The opportunity to create a value exchange environment is uniquely offered by the platform businesses. A novel approach of co-creating value is writing the rules in the platform business world. This paper analyzes the platform business models within the technology industry based on a multiple case study. As the main driver of business performance in this environment is technology, companies are using it to develop new products or to provide technology as a service. Thus, the main objective is to debate on the actual business needs in terms of business model innovation and to investigate how platform business models are developed through strategic acquisitions to achieve competitive advantage. The cases analysis suggests that technology acquisitions made around the core business may contribute to business model innovation. In addition, new partnerships with the external environment may facilitate mutual value creation exchanges and the platform may evolve through adding extra features from its external partners. We contribute to the advancement of business model research by putting platform business model study into the competitive context of the technology industry, with findings on how platforms are used in the digital era to innovate the core business model. From a practitioner’s perspective, this study may help companies to understand the importance of investing in other technology companies and to identify the opportunities of business model innovation through strategic partnerships. The limitation of this study is that the main data used for the multiple case study was derived from secondary sources and it provided insights about each company’s platform business model from a macro perspective
