Search giant Google Inc has spent more money compared to its five largest rivals in the US combined to grow into new markets, Bloomberg reported. The company draws its funds from its 56.6 billion cash pool.

Bloomberg data showed that in the past two years, Google has spent over $17 billion to acquire hardware, software and advertising technology firms. This includes Google's latest purchase of Nest Labs for $3.2 billion. In contrast, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Yahoo! Inc, on the other hand, have spent no more $13 billion all in all in the same time period for these acquisitions, basing on transactions where prices have been revealed, the report said.

Bloomberg reported that Google's spending spree, done mostly in cash than stock, signifies how the search giant is paying premium to expand its reach and get the talent it needs to go deeper into smartphones, Web-enabled gadgets and other areas. Google still leads in Internet search, a business which gives it billions of advertising dollars every quarter. However, the company is looking to get fresh revenue for other sources. In order to get an advantage, the company is using its cash pile, the report said.

In an interview, B. Riley & Co Analyst Sameet Sinha told Bloomberg, "They're looking at what's next. They're saying we're going to keep our cash for acquisitions."

In the third quarter, Google's cash and equivalents rose 24% to $56.5 billion compared to the figures from the year before. Its net revenue also went up 5.2% to $11.9 billion. Even after the search giant has already diversified to hardware and other sectors, it still gets 84% of its sales from online ads, the report said.

Last year, the growth of revenue of Google declined and analysts say it is set to experience another slowdown this year as more users go online using smartphones and tablets and away from personal computers. This will have a negative impact on the sales of Google since mobile ads are cheaper and search is not very prominent on mobile devices, the report said.