Six
acquisitions in 17 days! Let’s call it a "Google" month, although May was a blossom
month for other companies as well, like Microsoft, Apple Yahoo and others.
Microsoft made two purchases on the same day, two more Apple acquisitions
during May. Several “big” companies buy smaller ones from time to time and many
of them do not discuss any purposes or plans concerning the purchases.
May
started with Microsoft acquisition of GreenButton, a US and New
Zealand-based high-performance cloud-computing company which allows industries
that need large amounts of compute power to more easily use the cloud to
run their compute-intensive workloads – no recoding required.
Another
acquisition on the same day, not bad! This time Microsoft adds Capptain, a French startup that helps app developers to retain new users with
targeted push notifications based on their behavior and real-time analytics.
Capptain's service supports apps on all the major smartphone platforms, like
Windows Phone, Android, iOS and BlackBerry OS, as well as on Samsung SmartTV
sets.
May 2 - Google buys Rangespan
It’s the
second day of the month – high time for Google to start its campaign! The first
company, acquired by Google in May is Rangespan, a London-based provider of back office services for online retailers,
using data science to help them expand their product selection based on
real-time sales dynamics. This is the third acquisition of Google out of the
UK this year after AI-specialist DeepMind and anti-malware startup Spider.io.
Apple has acquired LuxVue
Technology, a Silicon Valley-based company that's been working on micro-LED
screen technologies. Micro-LEDs have the potential to improve battery life
while offering brighter screens than competing technologies.
Google
acquires Adometry, an Austin-Tx.-based firm that specializes in online ad attribution–that
is crediting various online ads for influencing a person to take an action,
such as clicking on an ad or buying something.
Google
made one more acquisition that points to its interest in building up its relationship
with local businesses. Google is buying Appetas, a site where restaurants can build websites for
themselves, integrating services like GrubHub and OpenTable to add extra
features like delivery services and reservations. Google says it will shut
down the service. I wonder why it bought the site then? What will be its
future?
Today Google
acquired cloud monitoring service Stackdriver. The company plans to roll many of the service’s features into its Cloud Platform in the coming months. Stackdriver, launched in 2012, allows its
users to monitor their cloud applications, automate some of the devops when
things go wrong and see detailed stats about how they are using their
cloud platforms.
May 11 - FireEye acquires nPulse technologies
Cybersecurity
company FireEye has agreed to acquire network forensics
company nPulse Technologies for $60 million in cash and $10 million
stock, according to the company. NPulse is headquartered in Charlottesville and
has offices in Chantilly and Lansdowne.
Arris
paid approximately $5.7 million for Ontario-based SeaWell, which makes a manifest manipulation technology that
enables next-generation targeted advertising and personalized video services.
Yahoo
has bought Blink, a mobile messaging startup whose app lets users send messages
that will self-destruct at a time set by the sender. Blink is a product of Meh
Labs, a company founded by ex-Googler Kevin Stephens and Michelle Norgan.
Originally, the startup had been focused on a location-based service calledKismet which grew popular. Blink, which was launched in April 2013, will
shut down its app for both iOS and Android platforms in coming weeks following
the acquisition.
May 16 - Google acquires Quest Visual
Quest Visual has been acquired by Google. With
the acquisition, Google gets Quest Visual’s tech, which it will incorporate
into Google Translate in the future. And while the apps Quest Visual has
created in the past likely won’t be supported once that transition is complete,
the startup is making them available along with all language packs for free on
Google Glass, Google Play and Apple’s App Store for a limited time.
Last Google
acquisition of the month - Divide, a New York-based startup that offers a
bring-your-own-device (BYOD) solution for corporate environments. The deal can
help Google make further inroads into corporate settings. Founded four years
ago, Divide’s basic features are free, but it has a premium service.
Apple
acquires the critically acclaimed subscription streaming music service Beats
Music, and Beats Electronics, which makes the popular Beats headphones,
speakers and audio software. As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders
Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple. Apple is acquiring the two companies
for a total of $3 billion, consisting of a purchase price of approximately $2.6
billion and approximately $400 million that will vest over time.
