Sidewalk Labs, Alphabet’s beleaguered smart-city company, loses its CEO Daniel Doctoroff, who is stepping down due to a likely ALS diagnosis. Since next year, its products will be folded into Google’s broader urban sustainability efforts.
Sidewalk Labs’ disintegration follows the scrapping of its flagship project, a 12-acre, sensor-equipped development within Toronto that drew local opposition over data collection.
The initiative’s fate underscores broader obstacles facing smart cities across the globe, including soaring costs, privacy concerns, and indifferent responses from potential residents.
