脸谱网20亿收购Oculus：我们在购买未来

Facebook announced they're acquiring Oculus Rift, a virtual reality platform, for $2 billion.

Facebook宣布斥资20亿美元收购虚拟现实技术厂商Oculus Rift。

Yes, the social network is buying a VR helmet-maker.

是的没错，社交网络巨头Facebook收购的是一家虚拟现实头盔生产商。

The dominant reaction to the move could be summed up in three letters: WTF.

这一压倒性收购行动可以用三个字母总结：看未来（WTF：Watch The Future）。

We see the acquisition of a piece with recent moves by other technology companies. Google bought Nest, a home automation/robotics company, and a passel of robotics companies. Apple is negotiating with Comcast about building out a TV service on the cable company's pipes. And Facebook itself recently has supposedly been in talks to buy a drone maker.

最近其他科技公司的收购行动也引起我们的注目，Google收购了家庭自动化/机器人生产公司Nest，以及一批其他的机器人公司；苹果公司正在和康卡斯特（美国最大的有线系统公司）协商，意欲借该有线电视公司的通道开启电视服务；Facebook最近有可能发起商谈以收购无人机制造商Titan。

What do they all have in common?

这些收购有什么共同之处呢？

All these moves are about technology companies looking to create businesses off the computer/mobile screen. In a world where smartphone sales growth is going to level off soon, where social networking growth has already slowed, where everyone already uses Google ... where do companies go to continue the revenue growth that is baked into their current share prices?

所有这些收购案例中，科技公司都在寻求涉足非电子/移动领域。现状是智能手机销售增长趋于平稳、社交网络用户增长缓慢、Google搜索引擎也已经人人在用了，各大公司如何继续保持收益增长、维持股票价格呢？

Maybe they go after a share of TV money, or bet on the Internet of Things, or get in early with the explosion of consumer robotics.

通过分割电视收益、押注物联网、或者抢先进入暂未火爆的机器人消费市场，他们也许能达到自己的目标。

These massively valuable companies need to grab some land in whatever big technology wave comes next. And they are starting to buy where they think the fertile territory is.

这些市值巨大的公司需要抓住科技领域先机。所以他们开始收购本公司认为有前景的公司。