Yahoo today announced it has acquired Qwiki, describing it as a company “that uses awesome technology” for storytelling by bringing together pictures, music, and video. Yahoo will continue to support Qwiki’s app, but the team behind it will be moving to Yahoo’s New York city office.
For those who don’t know, the Qwiki app automatically takes pictures and videos that you already have on your iPhone and turns them into movies with transitions and a soundtrack. It is only available for Apple’s iOS, and now that Yahoo bought the startup, it’s unclear if the app will ever arrive on Google’s Android.
Yahoo did not disclose how much it paid for Qwiki, but estimates have been flying around for a while. All Things Digital estimated $40 million to $50 million, and it is sticking by that estimate.
To celebrate the news, the duo naturally put together a Qwiki:
Qwiki CEO and co-founder Doug Imbruce is unsurprisingly thrilled:
So excited to share news that @Qwiki will be part of the @Yahoo renaissance – a happy ending and new beginning… http://t.co/BtpoIXkOnU
— Doug Imbruce (@dougimbruce) July 2, 2013
Imbruce also posted a separate announcement regarding the news on the Qwiki blog, which Yahoo included in its post. Aside from the usual Thank Yous, there was one section that stood out to us.
The Mayor’s office was kind enough to send over the following:
“Qwiki is a great example of the momentum in New York City’s booming tech sector,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “While the company was started out west, they relocated here to be a part of our surging tech community… We congratulate them on their partnership with Yahoo!, and hope they continue to grow and thrive in New York City.”
We hope so too! This is so much more than a happy ending. It’s a beautiful new beginning. Yahoo!’s focus on our city is further inspiring.
Yahoo’s acquisition spree appears to be far from over. We’ll keep you posted as it continues as well as what the Qwiki team ends up building.
Top Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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