At Google, pressure mounts to find something beyond search

Google became one of the most powerful companies on the planet by addressing a once-in-a-generation problem: Make it easy for people to search for stuff online. Alphabet, Google's parent company, is hard at work tinkering with a sweep of projects, from Wi-Fi-connected thermostats to nanoparticles for detecting cancer. Sales from those projects, which Alphabet calls "Other Bets," brought in 166 million last quarter, up from 80 million a year earlier. But losses from those experiments widened to 802 million last quarter from 633 million this time last year. Normally that wouldn't matter much, but pressure is sure to mount after the company's disappointing earnings report on Thursday.