Less than a day after the Earth-Viewer presentation, Google offered to buy Keyhole. In 2004, just as Hanke was closing the terms for a substantial Series B VC-led financing round, Google called. Earth-Viewer was used by both Media companies and CIA intelligence analysts during the second Gulf War. In January 2000, Keyhole received its first round of financing led by Sony. In 1999, they sold the company for several million dollars.Īfter two solid “modest” successes, Hanke formed another start-up called Keyhole to develop a geographic information system, Earth-Viewer, that layers data on map and presents the world in 3D. After a successful exit with a few million dollars, they started another gaming platform called The Big Network. And, with Steve Sellers, he created his first startup, Archetype Interactive, a game company. Five years later, Hanke joined the MBA program at UC Berkeley in 1994, where he returned to his original interest in computer technology. After graduating from University of Texas in 1989, he pursued his interest in global affairs with the U.S. John Hanke was born and raised in Cross Plains, Texas. Which option would benefit Hanke and his team, Google, and any other potential investors the most? Stay within Google, or spin-off as a stand-alone business. With the success and the technology behind it, John Hanke, the head of Niantic Labs, had two distinct choices for the future of Niantic Labs. By January 2015, it had been downloaded over 3 million times. Ingress is a location-based Massively multiplayer online game played in both virtual and real world. Since then, Niantic had become best known for its globally popular augmented reality (AR) game, “Ingress”. National baseball hall of fame member and philosopherĪs one of Google’s many embryonic businesses, Niantic Labs was created in 2010 to discover what opportunities might emerge as mobile, geo-location, social, and gaming trends intersected. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” The full article is available at Harvard Business Review. Engel, Faculty, UC Berkeley, Founding Executive Director Emeritus of the Lester Center. The professional entrepreneur and innovation in Silicon Valley (Part A)
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