Apple Should Acquire DuckDuckGo To Put Pressure On Google Search, Analyst Argues

[BlueHacker]

According to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, Apple should acquire privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo to put pressure on Google Search and tap into lucrative advertising revenue. 9to5Mac reports:

*According to Sacconaghi, Apple should acquire DuckDuckGo for around $1 billion as a way to put more pressure on Google and capture the advertising revenue that comes from the search industry. As reported by Street Insider, acquiring DuckDuckGo could serve as a ‘stalking horse’ to pressure Google: "Google is clearly the dominant force in search today. However, we suspect the company’s fear of ‘rocking the boat’ – which could compromise $15B in profits it captures today from iOS – may ultimately limit its freedom of action with Apple.

Conversely, Apple may be in a stronger position than at first glance, given it controls the keys to the kingdom on who can monetize iOS search. However, it remains uncomfortably dependent on Bing to act as a counter weight to Google – hence our suggestion that Apple acquire its own search engine. Finally, Microsoft Bing may (counterintuitively) have the most ‘option value’ vis-a-vis the status quo – although it remains to be seen how aggressively it will pursue this opportunity."* What do you think of Sacconaghi’s suggestion? Do you think Apple should cut ties with Google and acquire DuckDuckGo?