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This was what I was thinking when they first bought Boston Dynamic. Boston Dynamic was a huge DoD contractor. When Google bought Boston Dynamic, they explicit
by Johnie 11y ago
This was what I was thinking when they first bought Boston Dynamic. Boston Dynamic was a huge DoD contractor. When Google bought Boston Dynamic, they explicitly said that they do not intend to be a military contractor and was expecting the existing contracts to expire [1].
The contracts that Boston Dynamic had with DoD expired in March 2015 [2]. My guess (BIG UNEDUCATED GUESS) is that the DoD doesn't take too kindly to its contractors not renewing its contracts and these military contracts contradict the corporate culture of Google. What's interesting is that they sold Boston Dynamic exactly a year after the DoD contract expired (donning conspiracy hat).
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/technology/google-adds-to-its-menagerie-of-robots.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/technology/google-adds-to-...
[2] http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/innovation/2015/01/21/upgraded-google-robot-may-be-last-to-compete-in.html?page=all http://upstart.bizjournals.com/companies/innovation/2015/01/...
- nxzero 11y agoHave you seen this: http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/innovation/2016/03/02/eric-schmidt-google-pentagon-ash-carter-advisory-board/81194738/ http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/innovation/2016/03/...
- hnmcs 11y agoI'm going to go with Reuters for that story: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-innovation-idUSKCN0W421V http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-military-innovation-id... Being that they were the source, best as I can tell. summary: Schmidt joins board to help an "alphabet" US govt agency or two modernize their operations with industry best practices editorial: This could be good or bad, depending on how things turn out. And for your weather forecast, it either will be rainy tomorrow, or it won't. hn-cross-ref: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=www.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-military-innovation-idUSKCN0W421V https://hn.algolia.com/?query=www.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus...
- asquabventured 11y ago> My guess (BIG UNEDUCATED GUESS) is that the DoD doesn't take too kindly to its contractors not renewing its contracts You may burn some bridges in your example but think of DoD like any other organization. If it's not getting the spotlight, there will be no hard feelings when things turn.