Looker, Scooter, Uber

It’s an M&A kind of Thursday.

First on the auction block: Looker, a data analytics startup that Google has purchased for $2.6B in cash. This is the company’s first major acquisition since ex-Oracler Thomas Kurian joined the team (and replaced Diane Greene).

The value prop, as surmised by CNBC: 

The purchase of Looker will add a new analytics tool for Google Cloud’s customers. Google said the technology will help its customers analyze their data in a consistent way across different sources and help Google provide industry-specific analytics for its targeted verticals. Google said in its press release that it already shared over 350 customers through an existing partnership, including BuzzFeed, Yahoo and Hearst.

Bird is in talks to acquire scooter startup Scott, last valued at $71M. TechCrunch reports Bird scooping up Scoot would be the company’s first full acquisition. (And as an Austinite who frequents LadyBird Lake trail frequently, I’ll just say this: “Enough with the scooters, already.”)

And Step, a mobile-based banking service aimed at teenagers in the U.S., raised $22.5M in a round led by Stripe.

“Schools don’t teach kids about money,” CJ MacDonald, the CEO and co-founder, said in an interview. “We want to be their first bank accounts with spending cards, but we also want to teach financial literacy and responsibility. Banks don’t tailor to this, and we want to be a solution teaching the next generation of adults to be more responsible with money in the cashless era. It was easy with cash to go to the mall but now everyone is using their phone for Uber and more.”

And speaking of Uber, if UberX doesn’t quite cut it for you in terms of prestige, you’ll soon be able to take Uber Copter for an 8-minute helicopter ride between Lower Manhattan and JFK for roughly $200-225/person. 

Be sure to wave at all those folks parked on the Van Wyck!