Published on October 9, 2017
In IT Services

Google’s AI Start-up Acquisition Spree Says A Lot About Its Future Plans

Image by BERLIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 26: A visitor passes the Google logo on September 26, 2012 at the official opening party of the Google offices in Berlin, Germany. Although the American company holds 95% of the German search engine market share and already has offices in Hamburg and Munich, its new offices on the prestigious Unter den Linden avenue are its first in the German capital. The Internet giant has been met with opposition in the country recently by the former president's wife, who has sued it based on search results for her name that she considers derogative. The European Commission has planned new data privacy regulations in a country where many residents opted in to have their homes pixeled out when the company introduced its Street View technology. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)

By Priya Singh

Over 200 private AI-based companies have been acquired since 2012 and Google leads the acquisitions with 12, way ahead of Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, its stiffest competitors. Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., has aggressively been investing in acquiring AI start-ups. Moreover, its quarterly earnings report this year noted that it spent nearly $1 billion on ‘other bets’. The acquisition: In 2013, Google picked up deep learning and neural network start-up DNNresearch from the computer science department at the University of Toronto. This acquisition reportedly helped Google make major upgrades to its image search feature. DNNresearch is a start-up founded by Professor Geoffrey Hinton of The University of Toronto. Google was eager to acquire the start-up’s research on ne

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Priya Singh

Priya Singh leads the editorial team at AIM and comes with over six years of working experience as a journalist across broadcast and digital platforms. She loves technology and an avid follower of business and startup news. She is also a self-proclaimed baker and a crazy animal lover.