Unlockd vs Google: What is Google really afraid of?
As Aussie start-up Unlockd prepares to battle Google in the courts, Stocard’s Radinck van Vollenhoven poses the question on everyone’s lips.
This week news broke that Unlockd, one of the fastest growing Australian start-ups with high profile backers like Lachlan Murdoch and the Leibovich brothers, is delaying its IPO as it seeks an injunction against Google’s AdMob.
Google believes the Unlockd app is in breach of its AdMob and Play Store terms of service. Unlockd has secured close to $60M in funding to date in various rounds and in 2017 poached Twitter APAC boss Aliza Knox to run their Asian business.*
Aliza’s been at Cloudflare since January https://twitter.com/alizaknox/status/955690061344854016
Thanks Burman – we have updated the story to reflect this.
Interesting article. The issues Unlockd are going through highlights the problem of building a business on top of someone else’s platform.
I doubt that Google seriously sees Unlockd as any threat to their ad business. The Unlockd mechanic violates their terms of use. Whether you agree with this or not, I can’t see them having much success in the courts. Google are not blocking them over their own competing product. The only recourse is if Google misled them in the past.
Regardless of the Google issues. If the business has had investment of $60m and only has a run rate of $20m I doubt an IPO is what they need at the moment.
The idea is interesting but people invested $60m in a platform that just shows Google ads?
The IPO will be very much delayed, if it can go ahead at all, as there will be not just the return date for the injunction but the full trial of the action which could be a year or two.
@LJ – not sure, let’s let the ACCC decide as they previously approved the Unlockd apps – why suddenly change tack?
http://www.afr.com/technology/.....417-h0yv7x
Fairfax also reports the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will be taking the case into consideration as part of its broader inquiry into the competition practises of tech giants such as Google in Australia. Given Google has previously approved Unlockd’s apps, which have undergone little change since, the company claims its imminent IPO may have sparked Google into “anti-competitive” action.
“It is particularly striking that Google’s warnings emerged at a time of speculation around an Unlockd IPO in mid-April 2018. Google’s anti-competitive conduct is preventing Unlockd from raising capital to continue its rapid expansion and innovation, and therefore protecting Google from a growing and potential competitor,” the company said in a statement provided to StartupSmart.
@John, yes, good point. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Knowing Google they rarely fully commit to anything without some self serving caveats. I suspect they will claim their approval came with T&C’s and the right to change guidelines in the future.
Given that Unlockd have some major Telco backing, surely they need to work with the telco’s to circumnavigate the PlayStore and get a hard-install on handsets. Google themselves pay telcos and handset manufacturers to carry their apps as default.