The development studio behind Ingress, Niantic Labs is no longer a Google company. The separation of Google’s internal start-up was announced on Google+ and comes after the search giant created Alphabet, a new parent holding company.

Niantic Labs is no longer a Google company and its official statement reads:

“Niantic Labs is becoming an independent company; we’ll be taking our unique blend of exploration and fun to even bigger audiences with some amazing new partners joining Google as collaborators and backers. [Ingress] has inspired users to collectively walk the distance from the earth to the sun while playing, exploring and discovering. ”

Niantic Labs is no longer a Google company, but it will continue working with the search giant as collaborators. Till now, Niantic Labs is the first company to separate from Google, but earlier this week Larry Page hinted that YouTube may also separate from the company.

Page wrote:

“Google also has some services that are run with their own identity, like YouTube. Susan [Wojcicki] is doing a great job as CEO, running a strong brand and driving incredible growth.”

Niantic Labs wrote in their post about some of the landmarks Ingress has reached. The company said people have downloaded the game nearly 12 million times, and more than 250,000 people have met up in person at live Ingress events worldwide.

The company also said:

“[Ingress] has inspired users to collectively walk the distance from the earth to the sun while playing, exploring, and discovering.”

Niantic Labs is no longer a Google company; however, it is not yet clear what the main reason behind this separation is. Google has also not given any statement regarding the breakup with its internal start-up, but the search engine giant’s recent reorganization into Alphabet could be one of the reasons for that.