Google to acquire big data analytics company Looker for $2.6 billion

Google has announced plans to acquire data analytics platform Looker in a $2.6 billion all-cash transaction.
When the deal closes, which is expected to happen later this year, Looker will become part of Google Cloud.
Founded in 2011, Looker is one of a number of platforms that help companies visualize and make sense of their vast pools of data through tapping myriad sources, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Redshift, Google BigQuery, Snowflake, Cloudera Impala, HP Vertica, MySQL, and more.
Looker had raised nearly $300 million since its inception, including a $81.5 million series D round of funding back in 2017, that was led by none other than Capital G — the investment unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet. Looker raised a $103 million series E round late last year, giving it a reported valuation of $1.6 billion — a full $1 billion less than what Google is doling out for the company.
This deal represents Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s first acquisition since replacing Diane Greene back in November, but it’s the latest in a line of recent cloud announcements designed to help it make up ground on Amazon’s AWS.
“Google Cloud is being used by many of the leading organizations in the world for analytics and decision-making. The combination of Google Cloud and Looker will enable customers to harness data in new ways to drive their digital transformation,” Kurian said in a press release. “We remain committed to our multi-cloud strategy and will retain and expand Looker’s capabilities to analyze data across Clouds.”
Source: VentureBeat