Waze’s ex-CEO says app could have ‘grown faster’ without Google

Amid increased scrutiny of ‘killer acquisitions’ designed to neutralise potential competitors, antitrust critics and US lawmakers in recent months have questioned whether competition authorities failed by allowing Google to purchase Waze. — Reuters

Waze has struggled to grow within Alphabet Inc’s Google, the navigation app’s former top executive said, renewing concerns over whether it was stifled by the search giant’s US$1bil (RM4.04bil) acquisition in 2013.

More than 140 million drivers worldwide use Waze monthly, up from 10 million when it was acquired, according to a Wednesday blog post by Noam Bardin, who left Jan 31 after helming Waze since 2009.