With keen interest in cryptocurrency offerings, Google is finally taking a substantial step forward as it backs various projects and ventures.
Google is unveiling a new sector devoted to fostering advancements that encompasses a spectrum of financial solutions, notably within the blockchain and cryptocurrency landscapes.
In a communication to Bloomberg, Google's VP of Engineering for Advertising Infrastructure and Payments, Shivakumar Venkataraman, highlighted the firm's engagement with 'blockchain and revolutionary distributed computing and data storage technologies.'
Venkataraman will oversee Labs, the unit set to steer Google's innovations in virtual and augmented reality products in the future.
Google Can Eat It!
Google's unexpected stride has caused some bemusement among mainstream media, especially since the company hasn't been deeply involved in this domain previously.
Arnold Goldberg joins the team as a significant addition, having an impressive resume with experience at firms like PayPal, LinkedIn, Box, eBay, and IBM.
In a sweeping corporate initiative towards financial technologies, including crypto, PayPal's former Chief Product Architect will now head Google's payment operations.
Bill Ready, Google's commerce president, revealed that only a few alliances with crypto entities, like Coinbase, Gemini, and BitPay, are already formed.
These collaborations primarily aim to integrate crypto debit functionalities with Google Pay, signaling the company's commitment to a strategic and sustained interest in crypto services.
For many years, Google approached the crypto sphere with caution, even banning ads related to Bitcoin and crypto. Yet, times have changed, and these technologies have captured Google's interest once more.
August 2021 marked the lifting of Google's ban, allowing businesses involved in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions to advertise across Google's platforms.
Will 2022 Be The Race Of Tech Giants?
Critics argue that Google's venture into crypto seems delayed, especially as key competitors had already embraced blockchain technologies and are now exploring NFTs and the metaverse.
Google has long considered blockchain as a natural enhancement to its cloud service portfolio.
The prominence of cloud solutions is rising, making the metaverse space ever more vital, with businesses adding innovative features to their offerings.
Think of how Facebook, now Meta, signifies the shift; renaming underscores the metaverse's growing significance in tech parlance.
The past year saw NFTs and the metaverse flourish, bolstered by big players like Meta and progress in VR technology, crucial for metaverse access.
That, however, was the story of 2021.
As we look to 2022, leading tech firms gear up for ambitious endeavors, with many set to unveil their bespoke metaverse platforms, according to Business Insider.
Microsoft is creating waves with Mesh, a tool designed for corporate and remote working environments, according to executive Frank X.
Shaw commented,
'The metaverse enables unforgettable, collaborative experiences bridging the physical and digital worlds, enhancing meetings via avatars and fostering global creativity.'
Whether Google was furtively readying itself or not is debatable, but the publicized shift certainly spices up the competition among tech juggernauts.
Perhaps Google developed these offerings under the radar, but either way, its public foray introduces a new dynamic in the tech giants' race.
