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The Washington Post

2 May, 11 tweets, 5 min read

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google now dominate many facets of our lives.

But they didn’t get there alone. They acquired hundreds of companies over decades to propel them to become some of the most powerful tech behemoths in the world. washingtonpost.com/technology/int…

They all followed a similar pattern. First, they became dominant in their original business, like e-commerce for Amazon and search for Google.

Then they grew tentacles, making acquisitions in new sectors to add revenue streams and outflank competitors.

Once an online bookstore, Amazon grew into an “everything store.” But the company has moved beyond its e-commerce roots, due, in part, to acquisitions.

The company shows no signs of slowing, with more acquisitions that included robotics companies and artificial intelligence.

Amazon is everywhere: in your television with Prime Video, in your ears with its Echo smart speaker, and behind the websites and apps you use every day. In 2020, the company made $386 billion in revenue. washingtonpost.com/news/business/…

Like its competitors, Apple snapped up companies in the software automation space, such as virtual assistants and health trackers.

Apple’s Siri, for instance, started as a government project that was spun off into the private sector.

Apple has used acquisitions to bolster its “services” revenue, which stockholders say they hope will stimulate profits as smartphone sales go stagnant.

In August, Apple’s market cap hit $2 trillion, and it’s now the most valuable company in the world. washingtonpost.com/technology/202…

In its first decade, Google used search to build a powerful advertising business that generated billions of dollars in revenue.

Then, it invested that money fine-tuning its core business and moved into new ones.

As Google grew, its acquisitions have come under stricter scrutiny by regulators.

Critics have long warned the search engine is threatening countless industries from shopping to travel by consistently pointing people to its own products and services. washingtonpost.com/technology/202…

Facebook has the distinction of making the most expensive acquisition among the Big Tech group. In 2014, it acquired messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion.

At the time, WhatsApp only had 55 employees and wasn’t profitable. But it had 450 million users and was growing fast.

The company owns four of the top five social media and messaging platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Despite growing antitrust scrutiny, Facebook is still making acquisitions. washingtonpost.com/technology/202…

As the tech giants grow more powerful, critics have called for more scrutiny, saying the acquisitions are not rooted in innovation but total market control — part of a tactic known as “copy, acquire, kill” — to eliminate competition. washingtonpost.com/technology/int…

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