In 1986, Motorola invented the Six Sigma and soon led to the creation of the iconic Motorola University.
This Six Sigma quality system is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement created by engineer Bill Smith, under the direction of Bob Galvin (son of founder Paul Galvin) when he was running the company. Jack Welch made it central to his business strategy at General Electric in 1995 and from thereon it became known as the now famous Motorola University Six Sigma program. Today, it is used in many industrial sectors.
In late 2008, Motorola University re-engineered and co-developed Six Sigma programs & certifications for the Australia & New Zealand market along with Lean Six Sigma Society of Professionals (LSSSP)
In January 2011, Motorola split into two separate companies, each still using the word Motorola as part of its name. One company, Motorola Solutions (using a blue version of the Motorola logo), is based in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois, and concentrates on police technologies, radios, and commercial needs. The other company, Motorola Mobility (using a red logo), is based in Chicago (formerly in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville, Illinois), and is the mobile handset producer. The split was structured so that Motorola Solutions was the legal successor of the original Motorola, while Motorola Mobility was the spin-off. Motorola University was then merged into Motorola Solutions.
On August 15, 2011, Google announced that it would purchase Motorola Mobility for about $12.5 billion. On November 17, 2011, Motorola Mobility stockholders "voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed merger with Google Inc".
On May 22, 2012, Google announced that the acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. had closed, with Google acquiring MMI for $40.00 per share in cash. ($12.5 billion)
On October 30, 2014, Google sold off Motorola Mobility to Lenovo. The purchase price was approximately US $2.91 billion (subject to certain adjustments), including US$1.41 billion paid at close: US $660 million in cash and US$750 million in Lenovo ordinary shares (subject to a share cap/floor). The remaining US$1.5 billion was paid in the form of a three-year promissory note.
After the purchase, Google maintained ownership of the vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures, while Lenovo received a license to the portfolio of patents and other intellectual property. Additionally Lenovo received over 2,000 patent assets, as well as the Motorola Mobility brand and trademark portfolio.
As of 2011, Motorola University no longer provides courses to the public, last certification directly from Motorola University was held in 2010 which was extended to external interested participants.