What Makes a Moonshot?
Astro Teller, CEO of X, Alphabet's "moonshot factory," shared insights on what makes a moonshot at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 conference.
Teller noted that X has a "2% hit rate," meaning most of the company's attempts don't work out, and that's acceptable.
Notable companies that started as moonshots from X include Waymo and Wing.
Defining a Moonshot
X defines a moonshot as having three components:
- Attempting to solve a huge problem in the world.
- Having a product or service that could make the problem go away, however unlikely.
X has a 2% hit rate, which means that most of the things the company tries don't work out, and that's okay.
Author's summary: Astro Teller shares X's moonshot approach.