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Could someone explain what Google believes its core competency is? Do they really think that over the long term they can be a software company and a car company
by tuna-piano 12y ago
Could someone explain what Google believes its core competency is? Do they really think that over the long term they can be a software company and a car company?
- smoyer 12y agoGM is a car manufacturer and a bank. I've been seeing more evidence that every large company will eventually become a bank.
- bluedino 12y agoGM sold their financing arm to Cerebus years ago.
- maxerickson 12y agoThe new GM (it's a different legal entity post bailout) bought a bank and renamed it GM Financial: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Financial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Financial The old GM had sold a 51% stake of it's finance corp to Cerberus: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/profits-in-g-m-a-c-bailout-to-benefit-financiers-not-u-s/?_r=0 http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/profits-in-g-m-a-c-ba... But the US Treasury took majority ownership in the bailout. That entity is now Ally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Financial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Financial
- cylinder 12y agoAnd GE just dumped its finance business to focus on core industrials.
- tdaltonc 12y agoGE is pushing hard to stop being a bank. http://www.economist.com/news/business/21648681-announcing-closure-ges-financial-arm-jeffrey-immelt-has-only-won-half-battle http://www.economist.com/news/business/21648681-announcing-c...
- smanuel 12y agoYes, in the long term they can be a software company. Can't predict yet about the car company though.
- amelius 12y agoGoogle is an advertisement company. Not a software company (every company is doing tech nowadays).
- spacemanmatt 12y agoGoogle is an AI company.
- vowelless 12y agoIsnt it more accurate to categorize a company based on where they get revenue? If so, then Google is mostly an ad company.
- circuitslave 12y agoCouldn't you say they were a big data company as well? It seems that all that consumer data is what makes them such an effective ad company.
- ocdtrekkie 12y agoYeah, but Google did a huge marketing push that they're an "AI company" recently because that sounds a lot more scifi than the reality that Google's primary revenue stream isn't that different from a company that does cold calls. Marketing isn't exactly appealing to consumers. ;)
- th0br0 12y agoBut the big data is essentially just the knowledge base for the AI.
- spacemanmatt 12y agoI would say their goal to sort and organize the world's data is right in line with their existence as an AI company. You're not wrong at all that they make tons of money in ads, but then that is also significantly understating the role of communication and Google's role in communication these days.
- mitchell_h 12y agoThey're sorta turning into a commercially viable DARPA. They take some really hard, large scale, problems; get the right people in a room and find solutions. Also, cars are basically software at this point. Especially tesla.
- wiremine 12y ago"cars are basically software at this point" Really? A lot of the value add is software, but there is still a ton of hardware that goes into a car.
- spacemanmatt 12y agoTo the extent that a car cannot be a modern car without modern software, Google is a good candidate to add value to what is otherwise a commodity item. They won't have to innovate around automotive hardware.
- dredmorbius 12y agoA couple of tons, generally.
- TeMPOraL 12y agoThat hardware is mostly commodity. You can do a lot of new things by bolting some computers and software to any car currently on the market.
- Crito 12y agoWhere exactly do you think those cars come from? People who immerse themselves in the software world too deeply gain a very distorted view of the world.
- sz4kerto 12y ago> Also, cars are basically software at this point. Especially tesla. No, not at all. In the case of cars with ICE the biggest challenge is still mechanical -- mostly related to environmental protection standards. To keep a BMW M5 Euro5 compliant you have to go a _long_ way. If you mean that you use software to design these cars then well, yes, I can agree. But the onboard software is still a very-very small part of the challenge. (Ask somebody who's actually in the car industry, especially if he's in the higher-end market, like someone from AMG, BMW M, etc.; just the cooling of these things is an art.) In the case of Tesla, things are slightly different, but not that much. The big thing here is the reliable electric motor, which -- also according to Tesla marketing -- is simple compared to an ICE, but in reality it's a big challenge to manufacture because high-powered electric motors need to be manufactured with incredible precision, otherwise they break quickyl and often.
- steakejjs 12y agoIt might be extremely valuable for Google to prompt you, while riding in your driverless Tesla, to make a stop at a Krispie Kreme on your way home.
- aceofpack 12y agoExactly, Google have been hard at work on driverless car technology.
- shin_lao 12y agoWhy not? Example: I own a synthesizer and a motorbike from the same company.
- Geee 12y agoGoogle is a basically a future company, which means they try to make future different than the past. Software is just a tool; a continuum to stone and iron tools etc. In the next decade computing will extend in both directions, to physical and virtual realms. I.e. people will enter computer world and computers will enter our world. Google is trying to be a forerunner in this change. These are the next big form-factors. Obviously their core competency is giving away the stuff for free and put ads on it.
- jusben1369 12y agoInterestingly with self driving electric cars on the near term horizon the car companies are wondering what exactly a "car company" will be in a decade or two.
- sparkzilla 12y agoFar-term horizon. Despite big claims about driverless car tech, it's not reliable enough for production.
- jusben1369 12y agoThe thing is that, at the tipping point, they become safer than human drivers (sensors) which means 1) less accidents and 2) less traffic (orderly flow, no butterfly effect drivers). In addition they'll self park or be in constant motion (public transportation) making the a more efficient than regular cars. So you'll see government pressure and industry ($500 more per year if you want to 'self drive' for registration and insurance) There'll be dedicated SDE lanes that'll run smoother and squeeze self drivers in with human error prone and erratic peers. That tipping point will get us there very quickly from say Year 7 to Year 10 in major urban markets.
- sparkzilla 12y agoCurrent tech doesn't work in rain or snow. Computer vision cannot tell if a car is moving behind a bush, or if it's a bird or a plastic bag. It doesn't work off-road. These issues, and many others, will take a lot more than 10 years to fix. There is also no guarantee that Google will profit from driverless cars when they do arrive. The whole driverless car project is simply a way for Google to distract investors, the press, and the public from the lack of ideas in their core search and advertising business.
- rqebmm 12y agoAnd even if it were, worldwide adoption will be measured in decades if it follows the current automobile aging curve
- plg 12y agoWell isn't their core competency selling online (desktop) ads?