Google is reportedly eyeing the satellite company Skybox Imaging in what could be a billion-dollar deal.
Skybox's detailed recordings of landscape with pictures and video could soon boost data for Google Maps, as the tech giant plans to acquire Skybox for $1 billion, an industry insider told TechCrunch.
The two companies have reportedly engaged in at least three rounds of acquisition talks.
According to the same source, Skybox was valued between $500 million and $700 million during its last round of funding in 2012, when the project brought in around $70 million.
The satellite company could serve as a primary source of data for Google Maps, which currently has some up-to-date images and some that are years old, TechCrunch noted.
"A constellation of small imaging satellites, like what we already have in place today with RapidEye or what Skybox may have in the future, would give Google a very reliable, rich content source for imagery analytics and related applications," Scott Soenen, chief technology officer at another satellite company, BlackBridge, told TechCrunch.
Skybox, which may be looking to raise more funding soon, currently has just one satellite in orbit but is reportedly planning to launch a second one by the end of next month.
"Think of that June date as a kind of deadline for Skybox," one source told TechCrunch. "Either for an exit, or getting that financing round in place."
Both Google and Facebook have recently looked into purchasing satellite companies, with Google purchasing the drone-building firm Titan Aerospace in April. Facebook had reportedly been considering purchasing Titan Aerospace to further its Internet.org project.
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