Cyan Banister

So, you know, how does this impact M&A? I mean, it's still pretty slow out there. You know, some actions better than no action, but like Niantic was just bought by Scopely.

So, you know, how does this impact M&A? I mean, it's still pretty slow out there. You know, some actions better than no action, but like Niantic was just bought by Scopely.

I was.

I was.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's a Saudi conglomerate. And so that exited for 3.7 billion. And I think we're going to start seeing some movement, especially with the new administration.

Yeah, that's a Saudi conglomerate. And so that exited for 3.7 billion. And I think we're going to start seeing some movement, especially with the new administration.

Oh, my gosh. As soon as they spun out when Alphabet formed and spun them out as their own entity. There's a funny story for another time about how I got into the deal. But I realized it was my only opportunity to get in as early as possible. And so I stalked the founder and sat at his door. Oh, tell us the story. Okay.

Oh, my gosh. As soon as they spun out when Alphabet formed and spun them out as their own entity. There's a funny story for another time about how I got into the deal. But I realized it was my only opportunity to get in as early as possible. And so I stalked the founder and sat at his door. Oh, tell us the story. Okay.

Yeah, it's a great story. So before Pokemon Go, they had this game called Ingress. And I started playing it with my friends and I started noticing that my friends were doing some really unusual things. They were like charting helicopters and like traveling all over the world to cast these invisible triangles over the earth.

Yeah, it's a great story. So before Pokemon Go, they had this game called Ingress. And I started playing it with my friends and I started noticing that my friends were doing some really unusual things. They were like charting helicopters and like traveling all over the world to cast these invisible triangles over the earth.

Basically, it's a game of green versus blue and who can cast the biggest triangle. I was like, why are these people spending so much time? And not only that, but why are they going around taking pictures of points of interest? for Google. Like, what is Google actually doing with this asset was my number one question. So I realized that Ingress was part of a bigger mapping plan.

Basically, it's a game of green versus blue and who can cast the biggest triangle. I was like, why are these people spending so much time? And not only that, but why are they going around taking pictures of points of interest? for Google. Like, what is Google actually doing with this asset was my number one question. So I realized that Ingress was part of a bigger mapping plan.

I mean, if you look at the team, you look at John Hanke, they all come from Keyhole, and they're obviously part of the Maps team and helped build Google Earth. So this wasn't just a game. Pokemon Go was a joke. It was basically an April Fool's joke where the founder of Pokemon said, wouldn't it be cool if we put Pokemon on the map and we just tried to find them?

I mean, if you look at the team, you look at John Hanke, they all come from Keyhole, and they're obviously part of the Maps team and helped build Google Earth. So this wasn't just a game. Pokemon Go was a joke. It was basically an April Fool's joke where the founder of Pokemon said, wouldn't it be cool if we put Pokemon on the map and we just tried to find them?

And John Henke's like, yeah, let's turn this into an Ingress-like game. I went around telling everybody like if I had a chance to invest in anything, it would be Niantic. And because they were part of Google, I thought there was no chance. And then I got a call one day and they said, hey, my friend of mine was like, did you hear Niantic spun out?

And John Henke's like, yeah, let's turn this into an Ingress-like game. I went around telling everybody like if I had a chance to invest in anything, it would be Niantic. And because they were part of Google, I thought there was no chance. And then I got a call one day and they said, hey, my friend of mine was like, did you hear Niantic spun out?

I was like, oh my gosh, I don't know anyone at Google. How do I reach John Hanke? And I realized I'd invested in this company called Hentwater and they were giving out game codes on the bottle cap. And I was setting up her ticketing system one day and helping her out in her office. And I saw all these tickets coming in with the subject line that said Ingress Game Code.

I was like, oh my gosh, I don't know anyone at Google. How do I reach John Hanke? And I realized I'd invested in this company called Hentwater and they were giving out game codes on the bottle cap. And I was setting up her ticketing system one day and helping her out in her office. And I saw all these tickets coming in with the subject line that said Ingress Game Code.