Google has been known to shell out billions for the companies it wants, but it has also made quite a few deals, including some that fit the top 6 best cheap acquisitions list. Don’t be fooled by the price tag, though — most of these are pretty awesome and you’re probably still using them nowadays, either in their original form or through the various features Google “borrowed” into their own similar products. The fact remains that they’ve become core products in Google.
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The process is usually the same as with expensive acquisitions. Google thinks about launching a product and combs the market for what other companies and teams are doing in the same vein. Their original products draw inspiration from competition, but sometimes it makes sense to acquire the intellectual property of another company’s work in progress. This type of acquisitions has often been dubbed “acquihires” because they’re actually looking to bring in not only a certain service or product but also the brains behind it.
Unlike many other acquisitions, you can still say about these ones that they are part of “Google” since they are core businesses underneath the company that still bears this name. Following the biggest reorganization in the company’s history, Google Inc. has turned in Alphabet Inc. a few months ago. Alphabet Inc. swallowed up Google, who in turn continues to cover its many products, including Android, YouTube, Maps and Search. In addition to Google, under Alphabet Inc. you can also find home automation company Nest, the moonshot specialists from Google X, as well as others.
This is great because the company shelled out quite a few bucks over the years to become so versatile and you can even check out the 12 most expensive acquisitions ever made by Google.
Take a look at our list of some of the best cheap acquisitions Google has ever made that we’re still using nowadays.
6. Zagat
Price – $125 million
Unlike many other services Google acquired over the years, Zagat still stands. Aside from the fact that you can find ratings and other data on restaurants near you in services such as Google Maps, there is still a separate Zagat website where you can find all the data you want.
The idea behind Zagat goes a long way. The Zagat Survey was created in 1979 and put together ratings of restaurants from diners. As time went by, the printed guides took a step back as the online world took over, but the Zagat name carried weight and prestige.
In 2011, Google bought Zagat for $125 million and integrated the concept and the data within its own products.
5. Meebo
Price – $100 million
Created in 2005, Meebo was an instant messaging service that soon rose to fame. In the beginning it offered messaging capabilities in a web-based interface before it evolved into more.
Unlike the many occasions when Google jumps to buy a service as soon as it’s out of its shell, it only purchased Meebo in June 2012. It was soon after that that Meebo’s team merged with the Google+ group and the Meebo products were discontinued.
Nowadays, you can find traces of Meebo in one popular Google product – Hangouts. While the tech giant already had some IM tools, Hangouts has greatly improved following this particular purchase.
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4. Android
Price – $50 million
Back in 2005, when Google signed the deal, Android was a skeleton framework of what it has become now. Its parents sought to create smarter mobile devices that know more about the owner’s location and preferences. In 2003, when Android was born, the market only had Symbian and Windows Mobile, so there was plenty of room to grow.
It’s been quite a few years since then, but Android has grown exponentially. Not only has Android reached version 6.0 as of fall 2015, but it has also grown in market share across the globe. While data may vary depending on the source, there are an estimated 1.6 billion smartphones running Android as of 2014, which is about three quarters of all the world’s smartphones.
Google bought Android for a steal and has managed to turn it into one of the biggest names in tech, which is why this is definitely one of the best cheap acquisitions made by Google.
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3. Keyhole
Price – $35 million
Founded back in 2001, Keyhole Inc. was specializing in a tool that provided geospacial data. A few years later, in 2004, Google acquired Keyhole, paying a rumored $35 million in the process. In 2005, Google Earth entered the market.
In the ten years since then, the service has been greatly improved, and Google Earth remains an exciting thing to experience with much to teach all of us.
2. Where2
Price – $10.4 million
Where2 Technologies was a startup that was created in 2003 as it sought to create a mapping system. It wasn’t long before Google sniffed them out and, in October 2004, it was already signing the deal for what was to become Google Maps.
The four original developers went on to work at Google, eventually building one of the best mapping systems available online. While one of the biggest similar tools in the world, Where2 was one cheap purchase for Google.
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1. Picasa
Price – $4.7 million
Another “steal” for Google is the purchase of Picasa. Back in July 2004, Google decided to buy the service from Lifescape two years after its launch. The first step was to make the image service free for everyone, which is still something that Google does after it purchases a service.
Over the years, Google has worked more and more on Picasa, but also on its parallel service, Google Photos. Many of the features Picasa has are shared by Photos, including its organization system, cloud backup and face recognition.
The days of Picasa are almost over, as Google is starting to migrate users to Google Photos. With this price tag, however, Picasa reaches the number one spot in the top 6 of the best cheap acquisitions made by Google.
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