Alphabet reports that fully 90% of its Q1 2016 Google revenue came from ads ($18 billion). Facebook's ad-based revenue share is even higher, at 96% ( $5.2 billion compared to $5.38 billion in total revenue). But advertising is a zero-sum game: Since ad spending over the long term is unlikely to change much as a share of GDP, Alphabet and Facebook are competing for the same fixed pie. So what else are these companies betting on? Alphabet has used Big Data to kick-start several new business lines, including artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Its brightest minds are also venturing into big-picture research on areas like longevity. Perhaps Alphabet's most promising project is autonomous cars, which executives see as just about ready for liftoff. But for all their potential, Alphabet's many venture projects garnered it just $48 million in Q4 2015 revenue against $2.6 billion in operating losses. Mark Zuckerberg, similarly, sees a future in which Facebook is much more than a social media heavyweight.