July 1, 2015

Uber acquires tech and talent from Microsoft

Uber, the popular ride-sharing app firm, has purchased digital-navigation technology from Microsoft and acquired 100 employees from the company.

Uber, the popular ride-sharing app firm, has purchased digital-navigation technology from Microsoft and acquired 100 employees from the company. In a marketplace dominated by strong navigational abilities, Uber has made other deals over the last year to boost its in-house capabilities. 

It's speculated that eventually, Google might launch a competitor to Uber, Lyft and other companies in the tech space. At present, Uber is dependent on Google technology for its navigation platform, so its desire to boost and develop internal research and development makes good business sense. 

"The company is trying to wean itself off those outside technologies as Uber branches into competing areas such as delivery services and self-driving cars," writes The Wall Street Journal. "In its bid to bulk up its in-house technologies around mapping and autonomous cars, Uber also recently poached researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, bought a mapping startup called deCarta and made a bid for Nokia Corp.'s HERE mapping unit."

While the deal doesn't appear to be an outright acquisition of corporate structure, Uber has reported to have offered jobs to those 100 Microsoft employees whose talent is integral to growing the tech to maturity. Talent and intellectual property acquisitions can be just as effective as buying a freestanding company when the infrastructure is there to support the additional human resources and R&D needs. Microsoft forecasted some of these "tough choices" earlier this year. 

With the guidance of an experienced M&A advisor, your tech firm can pursue, land and seal a merger or acquisition that helps your enterprise meet its growth objectives and other corporate goals. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can help take your company to the next level.