Google acquires Skybox

Google continues expanding its services and resources by acquiring Skybox, a company that uses its satellites to grab high resolution videos and images of the earth. And as you (reasonably) imagined, Google wants Skybox to improve its Google Maps services.

Not A Cheap Deal

Google paid 500$ million to acquire Skybox, a colossal amount of money. Of course it’s Google we’re talking about, who never really chickens out when it comes to paying a lot of money in order to get what it wants. As a matter of fact, if Google can’t afford something, then not many other companies can.

Skybox also announced its new cooperation with Google, stating:

“We both believe in making information (especially accurate geospatial information) accessible and useful. And to do this, we’re both willing to tackle problems head on — whether it’s building cars that drive themselves or designing our own satellites from scratch.”

Why Did Google Make This Move?

Although more specific reasons are unknown, Google wants to use Skybox’s satellites for faster, more accurate and fresher images of the earth. The tech giant also hopes that eventually, with the help of Skybox, they will be able to make estimations of the natural disasters that could hit different places.

Another long-term goal that Google wants to reach with this acquisition is to provide internet access to remote areas that do not have this kind of technology yet. Make sure to read about Project Loon and Google’s balloons to get informed on the subject.

But that’s not all; Google wants to improve their self-driven cars too. If you’re wondering how their cars and image satellites are connected, then you should know that the cars are “trained” in virtual tracks that are created for this particular purpose, which simulate the real roads very precisely. It makes sense now, doesn’t it?

Google invested in this acquisition because they know that it will help them improve the quality of their services. Skybox is an expert in creating and analyzing digital mappings of the earth, although it’s still a relatively new company. Check out the video below to see an example of how far they’ve gone and get an idea of why Google would want to work with them: