1 . Mandiant:

Google acquired Mandiant for its prowess in dynamic cyber defense, threat intelligence, and incident response services, Mandiant joined Google Cloud while retaining its brand. This acquisition underscores Google's commitment to industry-leading security, leveraging Mandiant's frontline expertise and threat intelligence to offer comprehensive security solutions to Google Cloud customers and partners across cloud and on-premise environments​.

Mandiant, originally a standalone company, gained prominence in the cybersecurity sector for its expertise in identifying and mitigating sophisticated cyber threats. The company became widely recognized following its detailed report in 2013 on the Chinese military's involvement in cyber espionage. Before its acquisition by Google, Mandiant was part of FireEye, which it merged with in 2013, but was later spun off as a separate entity in 2021. Mandiant has been at the forefront of incident response and threat intelligence, helping organizations detect, respond to, and prevent cybersecurity threats.

2 . Phiar Technologies:

Specializing in AI-driven cybersecurity solutions for autonomous vehicles, Phiar Technologies' acquisition reflects Google's focus on enhancing the security of self-driving cars against cyber threats. This move is aimed at advancing Google's autonomous driving initiatives by utilizing Phiar's expertise to create safe and reliable self-driving vehicles for public use​​.

Phiar Technologies is a startup that emerged from the intersection of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, with a focus on developing AI-driven solutions for the automotive industry. Their technology aimed to enhance navigation systems by overlaying AR directions directly onto the real world through a vehicle's camera feed, promising to improve safety and convenience for drivers. By leveraging neural networks and edge computing, Phiar sought to create a new standard in navigation technology, making it a fitting addition to Google's ambitions in both autonomous vehicles and augmented reality applications.

Google acquired the Taiwanese-founded AI startup Phiar in February 2023 to enhance its automotive business, particularly focusing on in-car experiences for drivers and automakers. Phiar's technology combines Spatial-AI and Mobility AR Engines for advanced automotive navigation, including intelligent navigation, smart parking, HD mapping, vision-based live road detections, and traffic conditions. The company, founded by Harvard postdoc AI researcher Chen-Ping Yu and led by former Google employee Gene Karshenboym, had secured significant partnerships and investment prior to the acquisition.

3 . Enable:

A startup developing AI-powered financial tools for small businesses, Enable's acquisition by Google demonstrates a commitment to empowering small businesses with technology.

Enable is focused on developing AI-powered financial tools designed to assist small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in managing their finances more efficiently. The company's offerings aimed to automate various financial tasks such as accounting, bookkeeping, and financial forecasting. By simplifying these processes, Enable sought to help SMBs improve their cash flow management, make better financial decisions, and save time and resources that could be redirected towards growth and development initiatives.

4 . Wonder: 

By investing in Wonder, a startup revolutionizing the food delivery experience with local partnerships, Google aims to support local businesses and meet the growing demand for fresh, locally sourced food. Wonder's model emphasizes collaborations with local eateries to offer a wide range of cuisines and support local communities​​.

Wonder started as an innovative approach to food delivery, differentiating itself by partnering directly with local restaurants to create a more sustainable and community-focused model. Unlike traditional food delivery services that act as intermediaries between restaurants and customers, Wonder aimed to work closely with local eateries to provide a curated dining experience. This model not only supported local businesses by increasing their visibility and reach but also aimed to enhance the customer experience by offering high-quality, locally sourced options.

5 . Mantis AI:

Acquired for its leadership in AI-powered chatbots, Mantis AI represents Google's effort to enhance customer service across its product range. The acquisition aims to address the challenges of traditional customer service models by providing around-the-clock accessibility, multilingual support, and the ability to handle complex inquiries with human-like understanding and empathy​​.

Mantis AI was known for its development of advanced AI-powered chatbot solutions, designed to revolutionize customer service by offering more responsive, empathetic, and efficient interactions. By employing natural language processing and machine learning technologies, Mantis AI's chatbots could understand and respond to complex customer inquiries in a manner that closely mimics human conversation. This technology promised to improve the accessibility and quality of customer service, making it a valuable asset for Google's customer service enhancement goals.

6 . Kaggle:

On 8th March 2017, Google acquired Kaggle, a well-known data science community and platform. This move underscores Google's commitment to data science and its potential to drive innovation. Kaggle serves as a global hub for data scientists, providing a space for them to showcase their skills, collaborate on projects, and compete in challenges. With over 15 million registered users from 194 countries, Kaggle has amassed a vast body of data science knowledge, making it a valuable asset for Google. This acquisition aims to foster a collaborative and innovative culture within Google, leveraging Kaggle's community to accelerate the development of AI-powered solutions​​.

Founded in 2010, Kaggle grew to become the world's largest data science and machine learning community. It provided a platform for data scientists and enthusiasts to explore, analyze, and share data sets; to participate in competitions; and to collaborate on various projects. Kaggle competitions, where organizations posed real-world problems and data scientists competed to produce the best solutions, were particularly popular for identifying talent and fostering innovation in the field. The acquisition by Google was a strategic move to harness this community's potential to advance data science and AI research and development.

7 . Dysonics:

Although not explicitly listed as an acquisition in the initial summary, Google's hiring of Dysonics' co-founder and employees for working on audio hardware indicates a strategic move towards enhancing spatial audio capabilities. Dysonics specializes in audio technology, and its expertise is likely to contribute to the development of products like Pixel Buds, Nest speakers, or even new mixed reality products. This move signifies Google's interest in advancing its hardware offerings with improved audio technologies​​.

Dysonics focused on audio innovation, particularly in capturing and reproducing spatial audio to create immersive listening experiences. Their technology aimed to improve how sound is experienced in headphones, virtual reality systems, and other audio devices by making it more lifelike and multidimensional. The expertise of Dysonics in spatial audio technologies made them an attractive acquisition for Google, which is continually seeking to enhance the audio capabilities of its products, including Pixel Buds and Nest speakers, as well as potentially venturing into new mixed reality offerings.