Facebook completes Face.com acquisition
Facebook has made it official and has purchased Face.com.
Face.com announced the acquisition on its blog today, saying that collaboration with Facebook will offer it greater opportunities and resources to build products.
Face.com is a Tel Aviv-based technology company that has developed a platform for efficient and accurate facial recognition in photos uploaded via Web and mobile applications.
Face.com applications and API services scan billions of photographs monthly and tag faces in those photos, tying them directly to available social networking information.
Rumors of acquisition talks have been in circulation since mid-May and had been reported in many news outlets including BiometricUpdate.com.
Industry analysts have said that Facebook bought the firm to strengthen facial recognition throughout its entire platform, including its mobile applications such as Facebook Camera.
While Facebook will leverage Face.com API services for its platform, and acquire its entire talent pool, Face.com did note that Facebook will continue to support its other customers and developer base.
Face.com said through its blog that: “We love building products, and like our friends at Facebook, we think that mobile is a critical part of people’s lives as they both create and consume content, and share content with their social graph. By working with Facebook directly, and joining their team, we’ll have more opportunities to build amazing products that will be employed by consumers.”
Neither Facebook nor Face.com disclosed details of the deal, though the purchase price is estimated between $80 to $100 million. Shares in Facebook rose more than five percent in early trading on Monday.
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