Astro Teller
Alphabet's X
Astro Teller

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Clip 7 of 8
Clip 7 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Cost-Benefit Analyses at X

Astro Teller explains how the audaciousness of an idea for generating electricity once shared in Alphabet's moonshot factory outweighs its impracticality in his mind. He discusses how committing resources to a bad idea costs his organization more than turning down a good idea before looking into it. "Humanity is in no danger of running out of huge problems to work on," Teller says.
Video Clip 3 minutes
Clip 4 of 8
Clip 4 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Predict Failures Before Beginning

Alphabet's Astro Teller describes the "pre-mortem," an exercise used by organizations to identify possible pitfalls it may encounter. Teams imagine in great detail that a project has launched and then predict what could go wrong. Depending on the likelihood and seriousness of the problem, the organization can take proactive steps to prevent it from happening.
Video Clip 3 minutes
Clip 3 of 8
Clip 3 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Pro-Learning, Not Pro-Failure

Astro Teller, director of Alphabet's moonshot factory, X, distinguishes pointless failure from the kind of failure that leads to insights that can accelerate innovation. He explains how the time spent figuring out how to do something is in fact learning. "I'm not pro-failure. I'm pro-learning," he says. "We mean find incredibly efficient ways to learn."
Video Clip 3 minutes
Clip 2 of 8
Clip 2 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Celebrating Failure as Success

Astro Teller, director at X, talks about how failure is not only accepted within Alphabet's moonshot factory, but how teams that kill their ambitious projects early are rewarded generously for the lessons that the failures yield. The seemingly counterintuitive practice establishes workplace norms that incentivize boldness and transparency.
Video Clip 3 minutes
Clip 1 of 8
Clip 1 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Systematize Innovation

Astro Teller, director of the moonshot factory at Alphabet known simply as X, explains how he is a "culture engineer" and how he systematizes innovation by creating a work environment where employees are encouraged to be audacious. He says they are given the freedom to work on projects that inspire them and that they want to own – whether they fail or succeed.
Video Clip 6 minutes
Clip 5 of 8
Clip 5 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Shooting Down Moonshots

Astro Teller says the momentum within X, Alphabet's moonshot factory, depends on teams discovering as fast as possible if something is a bad idea, so they can move on to the next one. That requires a work environment where both creativity and critical thinking are rewarded. "Every place is a legitimate place for ideas to come from," Teller says. "You can't destroy the positivity that comes from saying crazy ideas."
Video Clip 6 minutes
Clip 8 of 8
Clip 8 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Motivating Without Money

While Google's holding company, Alphabet, enjoys all the wealth of the search engine's success, Astro Teller insists that vast sums of money aren't needed to motivate people to do their best work. Teller, the director of Alphabet's moonshot factory, X, describes how incentives like pay raises are ineffective in the long run, and how what people want most is recognition.
Video Clip 2 minutes
Clip 6 of 8
Clip 6 of 8 from: Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

X’s Place in Alphabet

"We're looking for things that can have a huge, meaningful impact on the world within about five to 10 years," says Astro Teller, director of Alphabet's moonshot factory, X. He cautions that a parent company's priorities can sometimes distract subsidiaries, but then adds how his division's mission supports the imperative businesses have to constantly find new problems to solve in order to grow.
Video Clip 4 minutes
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X

Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]

If you want a culture of innovation, your organization must visibly and repeatedly reward employees whose projects fail.
Video 58 minutes
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X
Celebrating Failure Fuels Moonshots [Entire Talk]
If you want a culture of innovation, your organization must visibly and repeatedly reward employees whose projects fail.

Video Clips

Clip 4 of 5
Clip 4 of 5 from: Forecasting the Future of Technology [Entire Talk]
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine

Building Beyond Domain Expertise

Panelists Christina Smolke, Steve Jurvetson, and Astro Teller discuss the importance for individuals and teams to blend process learning, domain expertise, and life experience to create desired impact in the world, in conversation with Stanford Engineering Dean Persis Drell.
Video Clip 4 minutes
Clip 1 of 5
Clip 1 of 5 from: Forecasting the Future of Technology [Entire Talk]
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine

New Approaches Shape Novel Breakthroughs

Panelists Astro Teller, Christina Smolke, and Steve Jurvetson explain why passion, plus non-traditional approaches to robotics, sensors, and software, are shaping breakthroughs in numerous fields, in conversation with Stanford Engineering Dean Persis Drell.
Video Clip 6 minutes
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine

Forecasting the Future of Technology [Entire Talk]

A special panel of highly scientific minds discusses what the future holds for tech innovation, education and entrepreneurship. Panelists include Google's "captain of moonshots," Astro Teller, Stanford bioengineer Christina Smolke, an associate professor at the university's medical school, and DFJ General Partner Steve Jurvetson. Persis Drell, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, moderates the discussion, with introductions by Stanford Professor Kathleen Eisenhardt.
Video 49 minutes
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine
Forecasting the Future of Technology [Entire Talk]
A special panel of highly scientific minds discusses what the future holds for tech innovation, education and entrepreneurship. Panelists include Google's "captain of moonshots," Astro Teller, Stanford bioengineer Christina Smolke, an associate professor at the university's medical school, and DFJ General Partner Steve Jurvetson. Persis Drell, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, moderates the discussion, with introductions by Stanford Professor Kathleen Eisenhardt.

Video Clips

Clip 3 of 5
Clip 3 of 5 from: Forecasting the Future of Technology [Entire Talk]
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine

You Need Skills of Dynamic Stability

In conversation with Stanford Engineering Dean Persis Drell, Christina Smolke, Astro Teller, and Steve Jurvetson articulate critical skills for this volatile century, including knowing how to learn, how to communicate clearly, how to collaborate in shifting environments, and the value of respecting other ways of thinking.
Video Clip 8 minutes
ETL Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Podcast
Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine

Forecasting the Future of Technology

A special panel of highly scientific minds discusses what the future holds for tech innovation, education and entrepreneurship. Panelists include Google's "captain of moonshots," Astro Teller, Stanford bioengineer Christina Smolke, an associate professor at the university's medical school, and DFJ General Partner Steve Jurvetson. Persis Drell, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, moderates the discussion, with introductions by Stanford Professor Kathleen Eisenhardt.
Podcast 53 minutes
Clip 5 of 5
Clip 5 of 5 from: Forecasting the Future of Technology [Entire Talk]
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Astro Teller, Alphabet's X Christina Smolke, Stanford University School of Medicine

Responsibility for Societal Implications of Innovations

In conversation with Stanford Engineering Dean Persis Drell, panelists Steve Jurvetson, Christina Smolke, and Astro Teller unpack the concerns and opportunities created for society by innovations, and the importance of educating the public on the full capabilities of new technologies.
Video Clip 8 minutes