Attention Startups: Google Uninterested In Acquiring Your Eyeballs

from the bring-the-cash dept

Despite the return of the IPO market, the ultimate goal for many of today's startups is still to be acquired by one of the large tech or media firms. While Google has made a few really high-profile acquisitions, the company has also made a number of smaller purchases that pretty much fly under everyone's radar. Speaking to a group of VCs, one of the company's top executives involved in making acquisitions said that the company is no longer interested in companies that have plenty of users, but little concept of how to monetize them. Instead, it wants companies with a clear business model that will lead to revenue growth. This makes sense since the company certainly isn't starving for traffic. What's clear is that the company is serious about broadening its offerings, so that it's not so dependent on advertising for its revenue. Eric Schmidt even admitted as such in a recent interview with Wired, as he touted the company's emerging paid software business. The attitude might also be a reflection of the company's ongoing headaches associated with YouTube. While it's still too early to put a verdict on that acquisition, the company may be regretting having spent so much money with so little clarity as to how it would recoup its investment.