Microsoft just made a brilliant acquisition in the cloud wars against Amazon, Google
Summary
Cycle may not have the name recognition of some of its better-known tech peers, but the startup has played a crucial role in creating todays cloud computing industry. Scientists were trying to find potential new cancer drugs and they used Cycles software to simultaneously run their app across tens of thousands of virtual computers in Amazons datecenters. This project was pointed out by Amazons cloud genius Werner Vogels as one of his most proud moments to date, he told Business Insider at the time. Microsoft did not disclose the terms of the sale and its hard to guess because Cycle Computing was unusual in another way: it was bootstrapped, taking on zero VC funding. Cycle claims Novartis and NASA as marquee customers as well as a list of unnamed top companies in manufacturing, life insurance, pharma and biotech, media and financial services/hedge funds.
