The company that came up with “bumping” phones to share information is now being acquired by the tech giant.
It has just been revealed that Google has purchased an NFC technology startup that developed an application that gives users the ability to share data simply by bumping their enabled smartphones together.
This, according to the company, itself, which is called Bump Technologies.
David Lieb, the chief and co-founder of Bump Technologies did not provide any information regarding the terms of the deal, but has now stirred his own team into the Google mix. That said, the popular NFC technology using Bump and Flock apps will remain available to device users.
Lieb has expressed very positive words relating to the acquisition of his NFC technology company.
He explained that “We couldn’t be more thrilled to join Google,” and that “Bump and Flock will continue to work as they always have for now; stay tuned for future updates.” According to AllThingsD, a tech website, the NFC technology company acquisition was worth somewhere between $30 million and $60 million.
The Bump app gave users of smartphones with NFC technology the ability to share data by gently tapping their devices together. On the other hand, the Flock app used smartphone location sensing tech in order to alert them when their friends are close by and to give them the chance to contribute pictures that they’ve taken to sets taken by their friends during shared experiences, such as at sporting events or concerts.
Lieb explained that “Our mission at Bump has always been to build the simplest tools for sharing the information you care about with other people and devices.” He added that through the use of NFC technology, the company has worked to provide users with “experiences that feel like magic” but that are actually powered by algorithms, data processing, and math innovations that are going on invisibly, behind the scenes.
The NFC technology startup was founded in 2008 and is already a neighbor of Google’s, as it is located in the Mountain View Silicon Valley. Additional details about the acquisition have yet to be released by either company.