Hot on the heels of its recent acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo! is eyeing another big-ticket buy. Reports said the company is close to shelling out US$50 million for Qwiki.
Qwiki, a New York-based start-up, is an app which automatically turns photos, music and videos into short videos. It was reported by tech blog All Things D which had sources that said the two parties were in advanced talks over the acquisition.
Since the arrival of chief executive Marissa Mayer at Yahoo! recently, the media company has been focusing heavily on mobile platforms. Mayer, a former Google executive, has been given the remit to turn around the struggling business which was being quickly left behind by its more innovative rivals.
While US$50 million looks like chump change compared to Yahoo!'s recent reportedly US$1.1 billion purchase of micro-blogging network Tumblr, it does signal Yahoo! is on a bit of a buying spree. All Things D also said Yahoo! was looking to buy book app creator Xobni.
There are rumours Instagram will soon be releasing a functionality similar to what Qwiki does, so hopefully Yahoo! won't end up with buyer's remorse.
If Qwiki culminates in a sale to Yahoo it will be a proven example of Eric Ries' widely publicised 'Lean Startup' business theory. The 'Lean Startup' proposes that with few overheads, new companies can evolve into their most valuable format quickly and meet the fast-moving demands of the public, particularly within the technology sector.
Qwiki shut down their web and tablet platforms in February 2013 to focus solely on the mobile version of Qwiki.
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.