Google goes for design with Gecko acquisition

[Transcendence]

Google has been in the news for the last few weeks due to its acquisitions. Just when you think that Google’s purchased its last company for a year, the Mountain View, California tech company goes and buys one more. The search engine giant has purchased hardware firm Gecko Design for an undisclosed amount of money.

 

Gecko Design’s five employees, including President Jacque Gagné, will relocate to Google’s X Labs to work on current projects such as the Project Loon Wi-Fi balloon project, Google Glass, and smart contact lens Iris.

“We’re a piece that Google X doesn’t necessarily have. People come to Gecko because they don’t know how to turn ideas into real products, especially when it’s something that hasn’t been done before. That’s what attracted Google X,†Gagne said.

 

Gecko Design is a Los Gatos, California company that was founded in 1996. The company’s been devoted to manufacturing consumer electronic products in such a way that they are said to be both functional and fashionable. Google’s been interested in the company since 2013, when its X Labs teamed up with Gecko on a project. As of January 2014, Google started acquisition talks with the company.

 

The reason behind the acquisition, according to Gagné, pertains to his stubbornness over selling the business. “I was stubborn because I’ve had this business for years,†the Gecko Design President said. Gecko announced its transition to Google on its website: “This is an incredible opportunity for everyone at Gecko. We are very excited and honored to join Google (x) and work on a variety of cutting edge projects.â€

 

Google’s purchase of Gecko Design may just help the company shed the negative perception of its famed Google Glass project as nothing more than a “nerdy tech gadget.†Google’s said recently that it won’t need the hardware design capabilities of smart thermostat company Nest for about 5-10 years, and we imagine that Nest and the Gecko team will likely work together to help Google products follow trendy fashion in the future.