Search engine ‘thrilled’ to acquire Reqwireless technology, engineers.
Google Inc. has quietly established a growing foothold in Waterloo, Ont. — the home of Research In Motion Ltd. — following the stealth acquisition of a wireless startup last summer, as well as plans to staff up a recently established research and development facility.
Google’s acquisition of Waterloo-based Reqwireless and its establishment of operations in the area demonstrate why the Waterloo Region is becoming one of North America’s premiere technology centres.
There is tremendous momentum in the Waterloo Region, with some of the world’s leading technology companies coming here and complimenting the innovative companies that have started operations in the Waterloo Region, says Iain Klugman, President of Communitech: The Waterloo Region Technology Association. We have a very strong talent base, a unique infrastructure that supports entrepreneurship, and a group of companies that are developing cutting edge technology. They are some of the reasons why the Waterloo Region is one of the fastest growing centres in North America and a great place to run a business.
Communitech is a member-based organization driving the growth and success of Waterloo Region’s tech sector through a vibrant network of leadership, connections and promotion.
The Waterloo Region is the birthplace of world-renowned industry leaders like Research In Motion, DALSA and COM DEV International, and has a well-deserved reputation for developing and commercializing breakthrough technologies.
In addition to many homegrown technology companies, companies such as Adobe, Siebel, AGFA and McAfee also have established operations in the Waterloo Region:
- Navtech, Inc., a leading international provider of flight operations software, recently announced the acquisition of European Aeronautical Group AB (EAG) from the SAS Group AB for approximately $20 million US.
- Waterloo named a finalist for the 2006 Top Seven Intelligent Communities and was named to the Smart 21 by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers named Waterloo Region "Canada’s best place to invest" in a report issued in September 2005 called Making Magic in Waterloo Region; A Report on the Exceptional Investment and Entrepreneurial Potential of Canada’s Hottest High-Tech Location.
- The University of Waterloo, renowned as Canada’s top university for its science and mathematics programs, recently announced the opening of their first international office in Manhattan, steps away from the New York Stock Exchange on Wall St.
As the high-tech industry begins to rebound following the end of the dot-com boom, Waterloo is establishing itself as one of Canada’s technology centres. Some of the largest employers include Research In Motion, which makes the popular BlackBerry wireless devices, and Open Text Corp.
Waterloo is also home to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, which was established with funding by RIM co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis. As well, the University of Waterloo has one of North America’s leading computer science programs, attracting recruiters from large high-tech players such as Google and Microsoft Corp.
And now with little fanfare Google is also actively looking to hire software engineers and developers in the city that has become a hotbed for software development and wireless technology.
Google recently disclosed it acquired Reqwireless Inc., which makes Web browser and e-mail software for wireless devices — although the small wireless company’s products are no longer available for purchase.
We acquired Reqwireless because of the talented engineers and great technology, Google said in an e-mail statement to the Financial Post. We are thrilled to have them here. Google declined to provide details about how much it paid for Reqwireless or how many employees it has.
Google’s announcement is the latest in a series of developments attracting attention to the Waterloo Region.
Google bought Reqwireless for an undisclosed sum in the hope of improving the search engine giant’s various software products for cell phones and PDAs. Reqwireless used to sell packages for viewing email and HTML on mobile products and, in particular, did work for devices running Java (J2ME). Google, of course, has plenty of goodies such as maps, email and search applications that can be delivered to mobile devices.
The Waterloo Region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Canada. The area also boasts affordable housing prices, a full complement of city infrastructure, three world-class universities and the top-ranked college, lots of outdoor recreational facilities and is a great, safe place to raise a family.
The Waterloo Region has proven itself as a highly competitive and attractive location for technology development as reflected by the diversity of the sector, says John Tennant, CEO Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc.
Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc is the not for profit, private public economic development partnership marketing the Waterloo Region: “Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo” to the world.
The Canadians have made a bigger deal of the acquisition, as is the nature of any Google-related items these days. They are claiming that Waterloo, Ont. – the home of Reqwireless – is becoming a major mobile IT hub. BlackBerry maker RIM has a large workforce in Waterloo.
Google, which has recruited University of Waterloo graduates to work in Silicon Valley for several years, recently placed a job posting on its website looking for a mobile wireless application developer based in the southern Ontario city.
We are looking for people with experience in making the Web and Web services available on mobile platforms. Our goal in the wireless group is to make the world’s information universally accessible and useful — at any time and in any place.
To date, Google’s wireless strategy has come across as scattered rather than focused. The company offers a version of its popular search engine for wireless devices, and it is bidding to build a wireless Internet network in San Francisco.
For young people, the best of them want a mission. Designing a bell to add onto Microsoft’s Xbox; does that sound like a mission to you? Young people are also attracted to what they assume to be the great competitive struggle between Google and Microsoft.
The paper actually went on to quote a professor saying that working at Google gives people the feeling that they are “engaged in a great mission.” That is quite the oversell for a company that displays text advertisements on web pages.
Larry Smith, an adjunct professor of economics with the University of Waterloo, said Google not only has buzz but a tangible reputation for providing bright people with a stimulating environment, including the opportunity to pursue their own projects. When you go to Google, you can believe you are engaged in a great mission, he said.
Google co-CEO Larry Page has a strong interest in smart phones, and speculation about Google’s interest in this area increased last August when the company acquired startup Android Inc. Android, which makes software for mobile devices, was co-founded by Andy Rubin, who started mobile-device maker Danger Inc.
If Google, which operates a sales and marketing office in Toronto, does make an aggressive push to hire in Waterloo, there is no doubt it will increase the competition for skilled employees at a time when Waterloo’s local economy is experiencing healthy growth.