The startup behind popular smartphone apps for sharing contacts, pictures or other data by “bumping” smartphones together announced on Monday that it has been bought by Google.<\/p>\n
Bump Technologies co-founder and chief David Lieb did not disclose terms of the deal bringing his team into the Google fold but leaving its popular Bump and Flock applications available to users.<\/p>\n
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to join Google,” Lieb said in a message at the Bump website.<\/p>\n
“Bump and Flock will continue to work as they always have for now; stay tuned for future updates.”<\/p>\n
The technology website AllThingsD reported the deal was worth between $30 million and $60 million.<\/p>\n
The Bump application lets smartphone users easily share data by gently knocking knuckles while holding devices.<\/p>\n
Flock software taps into smartphone location-sensing technology to note when friends are in proximity of one another and lets them contribute to sets of photos reflecting shared experiences such as a concerts or sporting events.<\/p>\n
“Our mission at Bump has always been to build the simplest tools for sharing the information you care about with other people and devices,” Lieb said.<\/p>\n
“We strive to create experiences that feel like magic, enabled behind the scene with innovations in math, data processing, and algorithms.”<\/p>\n
Founded in 2008, venture-backed Bump Technologies is based in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, which is also home to Google.<\/p>\n
“The Bump team has demonstrated a strong ability to quickly build and develop products that users love, and we think they’ll be a great fit at Google,” the Internet titan said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.<\/p>\n
Google\u2019s tax affairs under scrutiny<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n