Google is on the verge of acquiring Skybox Imaging, a satellite company, for over $1 billion, according to a report from TechCrunch.
This isn’t the first time the two companies have been reported to be in talks. The Information reported last month that the two were in early discussions. Now, according to TechCrunch, the talks are in the advanced stage, and its sources say it’s “happening”.
Google already agreed to buy Titan Aerospace, which makes drones that could be used to enhance Google Maps imagery, which is presumably why the company would buy Skybox as well.
Obviously neither company is commenting.
TechCrunch speculates that Google may also be interested in the company for use in its B2B Earth Enterprise product. This lets businesses store and process terabytes of imagery, terrain and vector data on their own servers, and publish maps for users to view.
We’ll see what happens.
Image via Skybox Imaging
