We could be... but why? What's the product?
It makes sense they prototyped it. But putting it into production is $$$, way more expensive than current street view.
Current street view works well enough. How is a massively upgraded 3D version, that is bloated and slower to use on older devices, going to make Google more money?
It feels more like a separate product to license to architecture firms, city planners, video game studios, etc.
Sometimes you don't know up front. Perhaps you learn a lot about gaussian splatting and push forward that tech by five years (presuming they started on this five years ago).
Or maybe you learn this helps you build a world model that would have accelerated Waymo's progression, or you sell it to robotics companies.
That's the nice thing about having a money printer and a ton of smart, curious, and driven people. You can afford to do things without a strict eye towards profit, that's reserved for tiny companies living on a razor's edge. Or consultants I guess.
Google mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Which Street View as it is, currently does. And is a phenomenal human achivement.
Adding a bonus 3D renderer on top is just a nice-to-have.
Mission statements are only there to resonate with people, so that part is working. If the mission doesn't make money, they aren't gonna do it just because it matches a statement
By selling virtual billboards within the street view