As you guys might have heard by now, Lenovo recently confirmed that they would be acquiring Motorola Mobility from Google for close to $3 billion. Considering that Google bought the company for $12 billion back in 2011, this seemed like a huge discount, especially considering that their patents would also be transferred to Lenovo as well, but perhaps there could be a reason why Google sold Motorola so cheaply. It could be because that not everything will be going to Lenovo, as it was revealed during a brief conference call held by Lenovo that while they will be acquiring everything else, they will not be getting their hands on Moto’s Advanced Technology and Projects Group.
That particular group which is headed by former DARPA director, Regina Dugan, will instead be transferred over to Google’s Android team which is being led by Sundar Pichai at the moment. For those unfamiliar with the Advanced Technology and Projects Group, this is the team that has been responsible for some of Motorola’s more “out there” projects such as tattoo security sensors, authentication pills, and Project Ara, the modular smartphone concept that is being made into a reality as we speak. Perhaps with the backing and absorption into Google, these more “out there” projects by Motorola could start taking off.