Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has purchased another start-up, the latest in a long string of acquisitions. This time the tech giant acquired Wander, a social diary company which allows users to capture photos quickly and create animated GIFs to bring moments to life using the app called Days.
According to TechCrunch, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) paid approximately $10 million for Wander based on rumors. The tech giant has not yet released any statement regarding the acquisition.
Wander aims to change content creation habits
Wander was co-founded by Jeremy Fisher and Keenan Cummings. The co-founders’ objective in establishing the company was to encourage users to change their habits in creating content. Wander’s initial focus was sharing travel experiences in a diary, but shifted towards an app called Days.
The Days app allows users to share a story using the moments they capture during their entire day from their first coffee during the breakfast, achievement at work, and relaxing moment at the end of the day.
Wander team to join Yahoo team
In a blog post, the Wander team confirmed that they will be joining the mobile and emerging products team of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) in New York City.
According to them, “We’ve spent the past few years figuring out how to make content creation as habitual as content consumption. That’s the idea behind Days, the daily visual diary we launched in May 2013. Nine months later, we’re excited to announce that we’ve accepted an offer to bring our work on daily habits to Yahoo.”
The Wander team said Days will continue as a standalone entity, and they will continue to support it. They added that they will be working on some exciting projects, but did not provide further details about it.
Yahoo! expands technology hub
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) recently conducted a ground breaking for its new state-of-the-art facility in Champaign, Illinois as part of its initiative to expand its technology hub.
The tech giant currently occupies 24,000 square feet of office space at the University of Illinois Research Park where several of its engineering teams are working on critical technologies. Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) will build 40,000 square feet building, and plans to hire engineers over the next 12 to 24 months.
Scott Burke, SVP of Advertising Technology at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) said, “I’m thrilled to announce our expansion in Champaign. Yahoo has benefited from the world-class engineering talent at Research Park that contributes to our advertising and data systems. We look forward to growing our team and continuing to be a valued member of the local community.”