Google to buy US analytics software firm Looker for $2.6 billion as it pushes deeper into cloud
- Its tools enable analysts and other workers to define calculations for items such as revenue or high-value customers and then visualise trends in their data
Alphabet’s Google said on Thursday it would buy Looker, a privately held big-data analytics company, for US$2.6 billion in cash, in the first major acquisition for new Google Cloud Chief Executive Thomas Kurian.
Google’s cloud computing division is a distant third globally to Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp in terms of revenue from renting infrastructure and other computing tools to businesses.
But Google Cloud’s BigQuery, a tool for managing large data sets, has been among bright spots in attracting customers, according to cloud industry analysts.
Kurian told Reuters in an interview that doubling down on analytics made sense as he looked to fill gaps in his unit. Looker and Google Cloud have similar cultures and share more than 350 customers including Blue Apron Holdings Inc, and Hearst Communications Inc, he said.
“When we looked at how do we broaden our portfolio, [data and analytics] is a segment where we have strength,” Kurian said. Looker is “complementary and completes our analytics foundation.”
The deal also reflects Kurian’s plan to win customers with specialised software, as rivals focus on more general tools.