Here's why fake-meat startup Impossible Foods wouldn't sell to Google

Google's founders love "moonshot" ideas, even when they're not their own. One they tried to acquire was Impossible Foods, a startup attempting to make food that looks and tastes like meat but is made from plant-based ingredients.

But the startup reportedly turned down the $200 million to $300 million offer last year. Why?

"We’re a mission-driven company and Google has a lot of interests," founder and CEO Patrick Brown said in an interview on stage at the Code Conference on Wednesday. "We want to have control of our fate."

He added that he didn't want his startup's fate to rest on the whims of a company "trying a million things" in the way Google does.

"It made no sense for us to be acquired by anyone at this stage," he added.

According to reports, Google made the bid before it organized into Alphabet, which stripped its long-term, non-internet projects away from core Google.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We have a request

Vox's journalism is free because we believe that everyone deserves to understand the world that they live in. That kind of knowledge helps create better citizens, neighbors, friends, parents, consumers and stewards of this planet. In short, understanding benefits everyone. You can join in on this mission by making a financial gift to Vox today. Reader support helps keep our work free, for everyone. Will you join us?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$95/year

$120/year

$250/year

$350/year

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $120/year

Yes, I'll give $120/year

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via