Google, a single company built from the ground up, owns a variety of other well-known companies that you may have not known about. Two articles, one from BBC and the other from Business Insider, who are both very respected news sources, go into detail about Google’s history and what they have acquired. Overall, Google has a long history of growth and, through that time, have bought out various other companies.
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| Source: http://techchunks.com/ |
Google is one of the most valuable companies in the world; being estimated to be “worth nearly 520bn” (Hooker). This success can be originated to its two founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and the company’s history. “Pulling together $1m from family, friends and other investors, Mr Brin and Mr Page launched their company on 7 September 1998” (Hooker). After that, Google has grown steadily to become the corporate giant we know today. They have gone on a spending spree and according to Mark Bergen of online technology publication Recode, “Google's executives are driven by wanting to have start-ups... they want to have a portfolio of start-ups” (Hooker). This incentive ensures that the company will grow even further.
The many companies Google has acquired has led to billions of dollars in growth, and it may be surprising to know the companies they do, in fact, own. “Since its launch in 1998, Google has acquired more than 170 companies” (D’Onfro). Their biggest acquisition ever was Motorola; costing about 12.5 billion. Next on the list is Nest: a company which makes smart thermostats and smoke detectors. This cost 3.2 billion. The list goes on, including companies like Youtube (1.65 billion) and Waze (966 million). Altogether, Google’s acquisitions make them a constantly growing company; having strong incentives for start-ups.
Future Question: What are the arguments against the regulation of Google?
