When you finish school, move out of your parent’s home, and generally grow up, you tell yourself that now, at last, you’re your own boss. And then an important bit of reality hits: You really, really need a job.

That’s the meaning of yesterday’s announcement that Google’s self-driving car project will be spun off as the firm Waymo. The world’s fanciest R&D project on wheels has to scare up some revenue now that parent Alphabet has shoved it from its innovation lab X, formerly known as Google X. (Google does like rebranding, doesn’t it?)

Signs of impending maturity have been obvious for some time. Top talent has flown away, notably the former leader, Chris Urmson, who departed in August.

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