America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 440

Mountain View, Google.

Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting dappled shadows on the table. Brewster stirred his now-cold latte with a spoon, his gaze fixed on the beautiful view outside the window.

Employees dressed in casual sportswear were jogging along the winding path, while several golden retrievers and Labradors chased frisbees on the lawn, occasionally letting out cheerful barks.

Engineers with laptops in hand sit casually on the lawn and wooden benches. This doesn't look like an internet company at all, completely breaking the stereotype of a fast-paced, high-pressure place. It's more like a well-maintained city park, exuding a lazy and pleasant atmosphere on a weekend afternoon.

Brewster withdrew his gaze, a sense of awe washing over him. In just two short years, this company had grown into a symbol of Silicon Valley and even the global technology industry, always walking at the forefront of the industry with a unique and unconventional approach.

Unlike traditional companies with rigid management models, we promote flexible work arrangements and a free office concept, creating the most comfortable working environment for our employees.

Across from Brewster, Claas's fingers never stopped, constantly typing code on his laptop.

Brewster looked at Clas's focused profile, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips. Thinking about where he was, he had a feeling that a silent match was taking place.

Because Claes' idol is right here, a code fanatic just like him, namely Larry Page, who was recently promoted to CTO of Google.

The position of Google's CTO has been vacant for so long, which has been the focus of attention in the industry. Everyone thought that Ernst and Hamilton would choose a senior figure in the industry with sufficient technical management experience to fill the vacancy.

But more than a year has passed, and in the end, Larry Page still took the position.

One very important reason is that everyone respects him.

Whether it's an engineer with more specialized technical skills or a senior manager who has been working in the industry for many years and is older than him, they all express their sincere respect when Larry Page is mentioned.

If he lacks technical skills, he can learn and evolve gradually.

Age is not a limitation; on the contrary, it can be an advantage in some ways.

What everyone admires about him is that he's always typing away at his code and constantly improving.

Larry Page's rise to power made him an idol for countless Silicon Valley programmers, including Claes.

Who says you can't hold a high position if you can code? This is the best proof.

"I wonder if, when you meet your idol later, you'll be just as indifferent as you are now, mindlessly typing away at your code?" Brewster picked up his cold latte, took a small sip, and said with a hint of teasing in his voice.

Claes didn't raise his head, his voice drifting over along with the sound of typing: "If I could have a chance to compete with him, it would fulfill my long-cherished wish."

"A competition of coding speed?"

"What else?" This time, Klass finally raised his head, his eyes sparkling with excitement, but his fingers still didn't stop, and the sound of the keyboard continued.

Brewster shook his head slightly; he simply couldn't understand what this tech fanatic from the Alexa team was thinking.

As the founder of Alexa, Brewster also came from a technical background, but his original intention in creating Alexa was to achieve upward mobility.

Karp also came from a technical background, but he was more interested in corporate management and wanted to be an official.

Klass joined the Alexa team purely so that he could code without constraints.

"By the way," Brewster changed the subject, steer the conversation back to business, "You mentioned that Google's negotiator this time was changed to Sergey Brin, and the department responsible for acquiring Alexa changed from Google Group to Google Search. Is that related to Saffra?"

Claes' face immediately showed an undisguised look of disgust, as if he had heard something unpleasant. "That woman, I feel disgusted just looking at her."

A woman who had become a complete slave to money actually chose to suspend negotiations immediately after receiving a call from Amazon saying they were willing to increase the acquisition price.

The two were initially puzzled, but when they returned to the rest area, they learned that Saffra planned to go to Seattle and have them negotiate with Google here to see who could offer better terms.

"I think Google won't get upset over such a minor character as Saffora. It's more likely that Google has truly found the core value and application direction of Alexa." Claes is a coder, but he's not stupid; on the contrary, he's very shrewd.

"Alexa's distributed crawling technology can efficiently crawl web page data from around the world and has powerful data analysis and processing capabilities. If this technology is applied to Google Chrome, it can significantly improve the browser's information retrieval speed and data processing efficiency."

"The web page index data that Alexa has accumulated over the years, if deeply integrated with Google Search's core algorithm, could become an important foundation for the underlying architecture of Google Chrome."

"I even think that after acquiring Alexa, Google Search might acquire SEM," Klass analyzed.

"Ernst's internet company?"

Both Alexa and SEM are types of data analysis, but the difference is that Alexa focuses on the macro-level, while SEM targets personalized, customized approaches.

Alexa primarily relies on browser plugins to collect data, providing an overall estimate for the entire website platform without detailed traffic assessments.

Unlike SEM, it mainly provides customized services for clients.

For example, detailed data such as a company's total website visits, visit sources, user dwell time, bounce rate, and visit patterns during a specific time period can help businesses obtain more detailed data on their online advertising.

If a company wants to compete on the internet, it should first purchase Alexa's service to find out which websites have more traffic, more active users, and higher click-through rates.

Once confirmed, we will purchase SEM services again to monitor the data during the Google campaign and make adjustments accordingly.

For example, if a product is originally targeted at the 20-30 age group, but through SEM it is discovered that users in the 30-40 age group are more interested, then the marketing strategy can be changed.

Claes stopped what he was doing and looked at Brewster seriously. "To be honest, I would prefer to sell Alexa to Google, not because of the acquisition price, but because of the alignment of our corporate visions."

"Amazon only uses it as a sales tool, which is an insult to technology." Klass's voice was tinged with anger. He has always believed that technology should serve long-term social value, not just commercial interests.

Brewster paused for a moment, then asked softly, "So, if Alexa were sold to Amazon, would you choose to leave?"

From the moment Google appeared, Alexa was destined to fall apart, regardless of its choices.

If it's not sold, Saffra will definitely choose to withdraw its investment, and the entire Alexa system will slowly become paralyzed due to lack of funds.

Selling to Google will likely leave Karp with some resentment, and he will probably choose to leave with the huge sum of money he receives from the sale.

Because he wants to continue leading Alexa, Amazon can agree to this condition, but Google certainly cannot.

If Claes joins Amazon, he will likely leave, as he said, not for the money, but for the vision.

When Alexa was first created, the intention was to be the eyes of the internet, not the abacus of e-commerce.

Perhaps Google's acquisition of Alexa had the same purpose as Amazon's, but the fact that it was Google, rather than Ernst's e-commerce company, that made the acquisition offer shows that Google values ​​Alexa's technology more and considers it valuable.

Klass didn't hide his thoughts and said frankly, "I'll probably leave."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to the Google campus outside the window, his eyes filled with longing. "Look at Google's campus, there are dense orchards and open lawns. The sun feels warm on your skin, and if you get tired, you can reach out and pick fruit from the trees. It must be wonderful to be able to focus on technological research in such a natural environment, right?"

Brewster was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "You want to join Google?"

After the initial surprise, he quickly regained his composure; wasn't this just the natural course of events?

The two stopped talking and just sat there quietly, waiting for the negotiations with Google to begin at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Seattle to the north, inside Amazon's headquarters building, Saffra had already met with Blackburn, Amazon's representative in charge of acquisitions.

Saffra made no attempt to be subtle; his expression was blatantly filled with a thirst for profit, as if every expression bore the mark of money.

"Mr. Blackburn, I think you should already know that Google has also expressed strong interest in acquiring Alexa, and their initial offer is not low."

Blackburn's face instantly darkened, knowing that this greedy woman would probably not easily agree to Amazon's acquisition offer.

He never expected that Google would also want to acquire Alexa. He wondered if it was a coincidence or if there were some internal problems at Amazon.

"Regarding Alexa's autonomy, Amazon can promise to maintain Alexa's independent operation after the acquisition, without interfering with its technology research and development and team management. Karp can still serve as Alexa's CEO." This is a key bargaining chip in Blackburn's hands.

However, Saffra's expression showed no interest whatsoever, and even a hint of impatience.

Whether Alexa operates independently or whether Karp continues as CEO has absolutely nothing to do with her.

Once the sale of Alexa is complete, Etoler will immediately cash out and exit, converting his shares into cash.

As for Alexa's future and the future of its team members, these are not within her considerations.

"As for the acquisition price, if Alexa is willing to accept payment entirely in the form of Amazon equity, we can increase the acquisition price to $2 million."

Bezos capped Blackburn's mandate at $2.2 million, but he's unlikely to use all his assets.

When Saffra heard the figure of $2 million, a glint of greed flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

She leaned back on the sofa, looking like she was in control. "$2.5 million, I think Alexa is worth that price."

"You're asking for the moon." Blackburn's voice suddenly turned low, tinged with anger.

Alexa's commercial value is astronomical, even $2.5 million would be an exorbitant price, let alone $2 million. The reason the other party dares to ask for such a high price is simply because they are taking advantage of Google's interest in acquiring them, and are trying to inflate the price.

Saffra, however, paid no attention to Blackburn's anger. She calmly adjusted her skirt, her tone tinged with smugness, "But I think Alexa is worth it. If Amazon can't accept the price, I think Google might be willing to consider it."