Dropbox acquires defunct mobile coupon service Endorse

Following its acquisition of popular email app Mailbox, Dropbox is acquiring mobile coupon service Endorse. The news, which was revealed on Endorse’s blog, comes one month after Endorse shuttered its service, as TechCrunch notes.

That Endorse had already shut down its service makes this deal with Dropbox particularly interesting. While there are claims that this is not a aqui-hire, the ambiguous nature of Endorse’s announcement sure makes it seem like this deal was focused on its 17 employees and not the product:

Just as important as what we’ve been working on, we’ve been similarly passionate about the how – and we purposefully built a team and company culture that values intellectual curiosity, risk-taking, teamwork, and customer service.

Here’s a look at the Endorse app, pre-closure:

In any event, this is a slightly happier ending for Endorse’s investors: Accel Partners and SV Angel. For fans of Endorse, however, it appears the team isn’t budging on its decision to shut the service down.