Gergely Orosz Refutes the Narrative That Google Never Builds Products Internally
Software engineering observer Gergely Orosz posted that the narrative "Google has never built anything internally" is tiresome. Google has indeed acquired many businesses, but it has also built several important products independently.
He specifically named Gmail, Google Docs, Google Cloud, and Waymo as products built internally rather than acquired, all of which have grown into billion or even hundred billion dollar businesses.
Orosz's comments directly respond to the recent notion that "Google only acquires innovation and has poor execution," emphasizing that many key businesses outside of core search also originate from internal development.
Gmail was built from scratch by Google engineer Paul Buchheit, Google Cloud emerged from the externalization of internal infrastructure, and Waymo started from Google's self-driving project Project Chauffeur, all of which later developed into independent or high-value businesses.
This discussion occurs against the backdrop of ongoing controversy regarding Google's innovation model and reliance on acquisitions, with Orosz countering the absolutist narrative with specific products.
In market mechanisms, the debate on the efficiency of "internal building vs. acquisition" is intensifying, and companies that can demonstrate both acquisition integration and internal incubation capabilities are more likely to gain long-term trust, while narratives relying solely on acquisitions are under pressure.
Orosz emphasized that these internal products have proven capable of continuously creating large-scale commercial value.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Gergely Orosz has long observed the engineering culture and product evolution of tech companies, previously analyzing the internal tools and development practices of major firms like Google and Meta. This time, he directly refutes the simplified narrative that "Google only acquires."
The capital path is reflected in the products he lists, which have evolved from internal experiments or infrastructure into independent commercial engines, aiming to remind the market to distinguish between "acquisition supplements" and "complete reliance on acquisitions," avoiding attributing Google's innovation capability solely to external purchases.
Similar to the periodic criticisms of Microsoft, Apple, and others regarding "innovation reliance on acquisitions," as well as Google's own record of continuous internal incubation beyond search and advertising, we are currently in a phase of reassessing the internal building capabilities of major firms against the backdrop of intensified AI competition.
Essentially, this is a cognitive restructuring, shifting from the "acquisition-dominated" narrative to a more complete picture of "internal building and acquisition running in parallel," whereby the persuasive power of absolutist criticism diminishes when specific product cases are named.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
- Acquisitions and internal building can coexist.
- Simplified narratives often obscure the actual sources of products.
- Billion-dollar businesses are the ultimate standard for testing building capabilities.