The stakes are huge. So the race is on. Google and Apple are vying for the top spot in the all important mobile market. This is a boon for mobile startups (and the VC industry). As Google and Apple aggressively compete to acquire startups, they will command top dollar.
May 3 (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is accelerating the rate of acquisitions as his company vies with Google Inc. for mobile technologies and talent.
Apple said it bought two closely held companies last week, mobile-application startup Siri Inc. and semiconductor designer Intrinsity. Those deals came after January’s takeover of mobile- ad network Quattro Wireless and the December buyout of online music service LaLa Inc. Terms weren’t disclosed.
The timing of those purchases suggests Apple may be feeling pressure from Google, which has announced nine takeovers this year as it moves into new markets including mobile devices and the software and advertising that run on them. Apple got a new rival in the growing smartphone market last week when Hewlett- Packard Co. struck a deal to buy Palm Inc. for $1.2 billion.
“The pace has really picked up, there seems to be a strategic shift,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst with Needham & Co. in New York. “It looks like there’s an acquisition frenzy going on between Google and Apple in the sense that there’s an increasing urgency on Apple’s part to stay even if not ahead of Google in the phone space and apps space.”
Apple, the maker of the iPhone, now counts Google and its Android operating system for smartphones as a rival in the rapidly growing market for mobile devices, software and ads.