For every smart buy like YouTube there's been dozens of utter failures. MySpace. Netscape. Flickr. Softimage.
It's to the point where being acquired is the kiss of death for most start-ups. Sure, you get your exit, but your product is toast.
Apple has a very particular culture and it's difficult for other companies to integrate into that. Google was more accommodating, like with Nest, but even then they realized they had to restructure and make Alphabet for it to actually work.
Sure, Google bought YouTube, but they also bought Boston Dynamics and fumbled it.
It's to the point where being acquired is the kiss of death for most start-ups. Sure, you get your exit, but your product is toast.
Apple has a very particular culture and it's difficult for other companies to integrate into that. Google was more accommodating, like with Nest, but even then they realized they had to restructure and make Alphabet for it to actually work.
Sure, Google bought YouTube, but they also bought Boston Dynamics and fumbled it.