Google Has Spent More On Acquisitions Than Its Top Five Rivals Combined

APGoogle CEO Larry Page.Google has been on a buying spree.

It has spent a total of $17 billion on hardware, software, and adtech companies in the last two years, which is more than what Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Yahoo have spent on acquisitions combined, according to a recent report by Bloomberg.

With recent, major purchases like smart thermostat company Nest and robotics company Boston Dynamics, Google surpassed the $13 billion that its five rivals spent in the same time period.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told Bloomberg that Google will need to continue make "big bets" to expand its leadership beyond search.

"They're trying to solve bigger longer-term problems, and to do that they need platforms," Munster said. "They're willing to pay up for those platforms."