These Two Charts Show How Apple and Google Approach Innovation Differently

This past week Apple confirmed it acquired a company called LearnSprout, an educational software company. To me, that’s not inherently interesting, however, what is interesting to me is what I found when I decided to take a look at the number of acquisitions both Apple and Google have made since 2006. The difference in approach these two tech giants take when it comes to acquiring technology versus building something in-house becomes strikingly clear when you look at the numbers.

So, since 2006, Apple has made 51 acquisitions, which translates into approximately a little more than one (1) acquisition per quarter. The chart below details most of these acquisitions since 2006, however, does appear to be missing a few based on additional research I did.

[graphiq id=”lKKbrJ8ooXr” title=”Apple Inc.’s Acquisitions (Since 2006)” width=”860″ height=”436″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/lKKbrJ8ooXr” link=”http://listings.findthecompany.com/l/8500602/Apple-Inc-in-Cupertino-CA” link_text=”Apple Inc.’s Acquisitions (Since 2006) | FindTheCompany”]

How about Google? Well, since 2006 Google has made 163 acquisitions, which translates into approximately four (4) acquisitions per quarter. Again, the chart below details most of these acquisitions since 2006 but does appear to be missing a few as well.

[graphiq id=”eck1wMDd7iB” title=”Google Inc.’s Acquisitions (Since 2006)” width=”860″ height=”436″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/eck1wMDd7iB” link=”http://listings.findthecompany.com/l/8520977/Google-Inc-in-Mountain-View-CA” link_text=”Google Inc.’s Acquisitions (Since 2006) | FindTheCompany”]

Clearly both companies are hugely successful. I look at this information and see two different approaches to innovation, neither of which is necessarily better than the other. So, the next time you think there’s only one right way to do something — remember, there’s at least two.