The profits generated from Google's business belongs to the shareholders ( owners ) of the company. If the money can be used to defend the business ( Android, Chrome etc ) it can be - and should be - reinvested. Is self-driving cars related to search ? You could argue that it defends the brand. But otherwise, the money should be paid out as a divident and the cash thus obtained by Google's management ( Larry and Sergey still hold a lot of Google stock ) can be used to fund these type of projects. Other shareholders who do not believe in such projects can invest their dividents in businesses they believe in