In another ‘Moonshot’ deal, tech giant Google to acquire satellite maker Skybox.
Search engine giant Google is all set to buy Skybox Imaging. The recent deal will help as a launching pad for the internet giant to have its own fleet of satellites. The satellites will help to take aerial pictures and provide online access to some of the remote areas of the world.
The deal has been finalized for $500 million and the acquisition was announced on June 10, 2014. Google is planning to use the satellite of Skybox which is already in the orbit to supplement the material which it licenses from more than 1,000 sources. This includes the satellite companies like Digital Globe and Astrium.
As time passes Skybox can eventually turn in to another Google ‘Moonshot’- a term that CEO Larry Page has coined for projects that will take years to concretize.
The Search engine giant hopes to make more satellites which could be used to beam internet access to the points across the globe. This can also expand the effort that the search engine had begun in 2013 when it had unveiled the ‘Project Loon’ – a venture featuring jelly fish shaped balloons equipped with antennas – to bring internet parts of the world without proper wiring.
Plans to expand in to the satellite business came after Google bought the drone maker Titan Aerospace for an undisclosed amount. During the past decade, the search engine has made about 250 such acquisitions.
According to Google’s executives, the ultimate plan of the company is to bring more people online and thus, democratize the internet space.
Photo Credits: Digit In
