Google creates a secret high-speed communications project called Aalyria

inside The Google, A team of technicians is working behind the scenes on software for high-speed communications networks that stretch from Earth to space.

The secret project, codenamed “Minkowski” within Google, was revealed to the public on Monday as a new branch called Aalyria.

While Google declined to provide details about Aalyria, such as how long it has been working on the technology and how many employees are joining the startup, Aalyria said in a press release that its mission is to manage “ultra-fast, highly secure, and highly complex communications networks that span land, sea, and air.” Near space and deep space.

The company says it has laser communications technology “at a scale and speed significantly greater than anything that exists today.” The Aalyria software platform has been used in many of Google’s aviation networking projects.

The offer comes as Alphabet, the parent at Google, believes ad spend is slowing and is looking to develop or terminate pilot projects. In part, that means seeking outside funding for some of the projects it’s incubated for years. Companies like life sciences company Verily and maker of self-driving cars Waymo Funds were raised from outside investors, while Alphabet Closed Initiatives like Makani, which has been making kites for power generation, and a balloon business that shines online color.

Alia said it has an $8.7 million commercial contract with the US Defense Innovation Unit. The company will be led by the CEO Chris Taylor, a national security expert who has led other companies that have worked with the government. Taylor’s LinkedIn profile says he’s the CEO of a stealth company he founded in November.

The alphabet itself strives to make more profits government contracts And earlier this year announce “Google Public Sector”, a new subsidiary directed at US government partnerships primarily through Google Cloud.

Aalyria’s board of advisors includes several former Googlers and CEOs as well as Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist known as one of the fathers of the web.

Google will keep a minority stake in Aalyria but has declined to say how much it owns and how much outside funding the company has raised. Google said that earlier this year it transferred nearly a decade of intellectual property, patents and physical assets, including offices, to Aalyria.

Aalyria’s optical laser technology, which it calls “Tightbeam,” claims to keep data “intact through the atmosphere and weather and provide connectivity where there is no supporting infrastructure.”

“Tightbeam radically improves communications via satellite, Wi-Fi on planes and ships, and ubiquitous cellular connectivity,” the company said.

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