Google Establishes In-House Startup 'Area 120' To Keep Talented Employees

Google doesn't want its talented employees to leave, so the tech giant has set up an in-house startup division called "Area 120."  Dubbed as an incubator, this is where workers can receive support, including funding, if their new ideas have business potential. This is also to ensure that their top workers continue to develop their best ideas within the company.

Google executives Don Harrison and Bradley Horowitz will head "Area 120" and discussed the startup in a recent meeting, per The Information. The company hopes to continue to stimulate its workers and address the outflow of talents from Google who have become bigger names at competing companies.

How Google's 'Area 120' Operates

Google employees interested in working at "Area 120" can start submitting their business plans to Harrison and Horowitz. If qualified, they will be given time to develop their ventures at a separate building off the Google complex in Mountain View. "Area 120" is going to be housed at the Google offices in San Francisco, California.

Google teams within the in-house startup will still be regarded as full-time employees. However, if their venture becomes viable for business, then the team can then branch out to form a new company under the Google banner, with Google as the primary investor, Business Insider reported.

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The Reason Behind The Name 'Area 120'

"Area 120" is derived from the idea that Google employees are encouraged to devote at least 20 percent of their time in pursuing other projects. These projects don't usually fall under their usual scope of their work, but it should be feasible for the company's growth.

"We encourage our employees, in addition to their regular projects, to spend 20% of their time working on what they think will most benefit Google," Google executives wrote in a 2004 IPO letter. "This empowers them to be more creative and innovative."

"Many of our significant advances have happened in this manner," it continued. The Next Web reported that Google products like Gmail and AdSense were developed this way as well.