When a company talks about taking a “moonshot,” it often ends up being something trivial: a new emoji keyboard, or delivering a pizza in less than 30 minutes.
But at X, the Moonshot Factory, which is part of Google, they’re tackling some of the world’s thorniest problems: sustainably feeding the world’s population, climate change, education, and much more.
Today we’re speaking with Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, and Ivo Stivoric, Vice President at X. Astro has a PhD in artificial intelligence from Carnegie Mellon and wrote a prophetic 1997 novel about AI called Exegesis. He's the grandson of Edward Teller of Manhattan Project fame, but his own legacy is built on creating protected spaces where multidisciplinary teams can tackle humanity's biggest challenges—from self-driving cars to internet access delivered by balloons.
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Ivo leads a portfolio focused on climate, sustainability, and social justice. A designer by training who cut his teeth in the early days of wearable computing at Carnegie Mellon's Engineering Design Research Center, Ivo brings a unique perspective on bridging human needs with breakthrough technology. Together with Astro, he co-founded BodyMedia, one of the pioneering companies in wearable health monitors, which was later acquired by Jawbone.
We chat with Astro and Ivo about how they've maintained one of tech's longest creative partnerships, why moonshots require unlearning everything you know about building products, and how they're using their "moonshot factory" push the boundaries of what's possible when you combine emerging technology with empathy for human needs.
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Astro Teller
As X’s Captain of Moonshots, Astro is responsible for steering X’s projects through the bumps and scrapes they meet along the road to reality.
Prior to X, Astro founded and grew five companies including BodyMedia, a wearable body monitoring company; Cerebellum Capital, an AI investment management firm; and Sandbox Advanced Development, a technology incubator.
Astro holds a B.S. in computer science and an M.S. in symbolic and heuristic computation, both from Stanford, and a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from Carnegie Mellon, where he was a recipient of the Hertz fellowship. Before moving to the business world, he taught at Stanford University, and did engineering research for Phoenix Laser Technologies, Stanford’s Center for Integrated Systems, and The Carnegie Group Incorporated.
Through his work as a scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur, Astro holds many U.S. and international patents related to hardware and software technology. He’s the author of three published books, and an international speaker on technology and innovation.
Ivo Stivoric
Ivo Stivoric is Vice President at X, the Moonshot Factory, where he leads ambitious projects focused on climate, sustainability, and social impact. At X, he has helped incubate and grow moonshots tackling challenges in robotics, energy, ocean health, supply chains, and waste reduction.
A pioneer in wearable technology, Ivo co-founded BodyMedia in the 1990s with Astro Teller, building some of the earliest health-monitoring wearables before its acquisition by Jawbone. At Jawbone, he served as VP of R&D, advancing consumer and healthcare technologies powered by sensors and data. Over his career, he has earned 90+ patents and recognition as one of EE Times’s “40 innovators” shaping the next generation of electronics.
Ivo holds an M.S. in Interaction Design and a B.F.A. in Industrial Design from Carnegie Mellon University, where he helped establish the Interaction Design Studio and Mobile + Wearable Computing Design Studio. His work continues to bridge design, technology, and human health to create tools that address pressing global challenges.
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