Most of us are wondering when Snapchat is going to get bought out, but the company is making its own acquisitions in the meantime.
Snapchat has agreed to buy a start-up that designs personalised avatars, a new report claims.
According to Fortune, Snapchat is in the process of acquiring Bitstrips, a Toronto-based firm that creates ‘bitmojis’.
The report cites a source as saying the deal is valued “in the ballpark” of $100 million, which is to be paid in part-cash, part-stock.
Bitstrips was first launched in 2007, but its focus on digital comics and personalised emojis only really began in 2014.
The app currently allows users to create an avatar or ‘bitmoji’ of themselves, which are then inserted into funny comics.
Snapchat has yet to announce any official details regarding the alleged acquisition, so it’s tough to say what the firm’s intent is.
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The likelihood is that Bitstrips will be used in a similar way to Snapchat’s filters, where users can modify photographs and videos of themselves in funny ways.
Snapchat was launched in 2011, and now boasts 7 billion daily video views. The company is valued at between $10 billion and $20 billion.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
