Google buys drone maker Titan Aerospace; Facebook had shown interest

Google has acquired New Mexico-based drone maker Titan Aerospace, the company said on Monday.

The Mountain View tech giant did not say how much it paid for the start-up, which specializes in building drones capable of staying in sky for years on end.

“Titan Aerospace and Google share a profound optimism about the potential for technology to improve the world,” a Google spokesman said. “It’s still early days, but atmospheric satellites could help bring Internet access to millions of people, and help solve other problems, including disaster relief and environmental damage like deforestation.”

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The team from Titan Aerospace will work closely with Google’s Project Loon, the Wall Street Journal reported. Project Loon has been building high-altitude balloons capable of beaming Internet connectivity to those below it.

Earlier this year, reports said Facebook was interested in acquiring Titan Aerospace for as much as $60 million. Instead, Facebook wound up paying $20 million to acquire Ascenta, another aerospace company that specializes in drones capable of flying for extended periods.

Like Google, Facebook is also working on a project to provide users in emerging and remote parts of the world with Internet connectivity through the sky. Facebook’s effort is called Internet.org.

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