As early as 2010, site loading speed was listed by Google as a crucial factor in their site ranking algorithm, and they've recently updated their mobile algorithm to include page loading speed as a ranking signal for mobile sites as well.
No other company likes digging deep into its pockets and spending dollars on acquiring new companies as Google does. Google has acquired all kinds of companies, from robots, gaming, mapping companies to security agencies, artificial intelligence, facial recognition to self-driven cars; the list is quite endless.