
Google enters race for nuclear fusion technology - Jerry2
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/25/google-enters-race-for-nuclear-fusion-technology
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omarforgotpwd
Google is a funny company. Almost all of the company's revenue comes from it's
core advertising products -- well over 90%, last I heard. Someone analyzing
things impartially might say that this core business that Google pioneered is
increasingly under threat from alternatives like Facebook (which has much more
personal info than Google) and Oath (AOL + Yahoo). In fact long term I could
see digital advertising becoming much more commoditized.

Despite this Google trades at an earnings multiple of 32 because they've done
some masterful PR work in positioning Google not just as an advertising
company but as the greatest innovators in the world. Self drivings cars?
Drones? Nuclear Fusion? Google wants us to believe they will pioneer it all,
and they have more or less succeeded.

Of course Google clearly has amazing potential. A web index is tremendously
valuable when you're trying to build AI, and their work in the field so far
has already been amazing. But still, all of these amazing R&D projects they do
are funded entirely 100% by their core advertising business. Should any
problems arise with their golden goose before they are able to successfully
productize some other technology that will help diversify their revenue
stream, everything else will be under threat because ultimately the entire
business is funded by advertising today.

