Waymo becomes a company
Google spun its self-driving project into a separate company under a new name, declaring a move from research to a service.
Why it matters
Nearly eight years of work on a project begun in 2009 turned into a separate company.
The name means a new way forward in motion. At the point of the spin-off the project's cars had driven more than three million kilometres autonomously (by Waymo's post, 2 million miles). Becoming a company also changed the goal: not a demonstration of possibility but an intent to let people use the cars for everyday things - errands, commuting, getting home. Waymo One started two years later.