Acquired
Episode 20: Android
Every company has a story.
Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.
Show Notes
Ben & David examine Google’s 2005 purchase of Android for a rumored $50M, undeniably one of the best technology acquisitions of all time. But will it top the list of these tough graders? Tune in to find out.
Sponsors:
WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25
Intapp: https://bit.ly/intappceleste
Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry
Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25
More Acquired!
Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
Join the Slack
Subscribe to ACQ2
Merch Store!
© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC
Topics covered include: Welcome new listeners! We quickly review the show format for newbies.
Community spotlight: Patagonia on a Budget from community member Matt Morgante (@mattm on Slack)
Andy Rubin’s career trajectory and what made him “born to start Android"
The undeniable “cool factor” of the Danger Sidekick in the early/mid-2000’s, including fans such as Larry Page, Sergey Brin and… Turtle from Entourage
Android’s original ambition to build an operating system for… digital cameras
WebTV founder Steve Perlman is pretty much the best friend ever
Google’s own perspective on Android as their “best deal ever"
The Android team’s reaction to Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone in January 2007, and redesigning the initial launch hardware
Announcing Android and—equally importantly—the Open Handset Alliance (“OHA”)
The much-talked-about "mobile holy wars", between Android’s “open” platform and Apple’s “closed” platform
The less-talked-about US carrier wars with the iPhone + AT&T in one camp, and everyone else in the Google / OHA camp (including “Droid Does”)
A quirk of history: HTC at one point acquires a majority share in Beats, resulting a short-lived period of Beats-branded Android phones (still available on Amazon!)
The real battleground for Google in the mobile platform wars: the economics of “default search” (briefly known thanks to the Oracle/Java lawsuit against Google)
Google’s detour into smartphone hardware with the acquisition (and subsequent divestiture) of Motorola
The “fork-ability” of Android via the Android Open Source Project (versus “Google Android”), and the rise of Xiaomi, Cyanogen, Kindle Fire and other platforms
The ecosystem economics of the Android business for Google
“Defensive” versus “offensive” acquisitions, and protecting Google’s core search business
Could (or would) Google have built an Android-like platform without acquiring Android the company (or having Andy Rubin)?
Framing the technology world’s shift to mobile within (surprise) Ben Thompson’s Aggregation Theory
The current “moving up the stack” of the competitive playing field as the mobile landscape matures
Grading: Android versus Instagram?
Followups:
Waze launches Carpool in the Bay Area. Much consternation ensues on the Uber board.
Hot Takes:
The iPhone 7 (and AirPods) announcement
The Carve Out:
Ben: Business Adventures by John Brooks, Bill Gates’ favorite business book
David: Ezra Edelman's fantastic 5-part ESPN documentary on O.J. Simpson, O.J.: Made in America
None this week… coverage of Instagram Stories to come next time!
Transcript not yet processed.
Sign in to unlock (1 credit)
Free to start
Full transcripts, AI insights,
Full transcripts, AI insights,
episode chat — free.
Sign up with Google in one click. 10 unlock credits included. No card needed.
Google sign-in · No credit card · Cancel anytime