During Alphabet’s Q4 2023 earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai shared exciting news about Google One, the cloud storage service, revealing that it is on the verge of crossing the remarkable milestone of 100 million subscribers.
AI-Powered Features on the Horizon
Pichai underlined the company’s commitment to continuous improvement by announcing plans to introduce more AI-powered features to Google One. Launched in 2018, the service has undergone significant evolution, now boasting additional functionalities, including advanced image editing tools integrated with Google Photos.
Growing Subscription Business and Financial Success
Despite recent workforce adjustments, Google’s overall subscription business is flourishing. This business segment, comprising YouTube Premium and Music, YouTube TV, and Google One, has witnessed an astounding 5-fold increase in annual revenue, surpassing an impressive $15 billion. The Subscriptions, Platforms, and Devices vertical experienced a remarkable 23% year-over-year growth, primarily fueled by the strong performance of subscription services, notes NIX Solutions.
Workforce Changes and Future Outlook
Earlier this month, Google made headlines with layoffs affecting nearly 1,000 employees across various divisions, including hardware, engineering, services, and YouTube. Pichai acknowledged the challenges and communicated internally about potential additional cuts in the coming year. Despite these adjustments, Google’s current workforce stands at 182,502, a slight increase from the 182,381 reported in the third-quarter earnings report. However, it is noteworthy that this figure is considerably less than the 190,234 employees the company had at the end of 2022.