Facebook acquires Chai Labs

SOCIAL networking giant Facebook, has acquired Chai Labs, a start-up that assists companies with the build of search-friendly websites focused around specific topics.

The value of the acquisition is as yet unknown, but figures around $10million are being muted. The size of the acquisition is perhaps a secondary matter, as the significance is that Facebook has the scent of blood in its nostrils having recently acquired Divvyshot, NextStop and Sharegrove. More importantly from an information services and mobile marketing point of view, this latest acquisition sees Facebook potentially moving further into the search marketing field.

Chai Labs specialises in semantic search technologies allowing consumers to find information within specific editorial content focussing on vertical sectors such as travel or local news. The business has a strong pedigree as it was founded by ex-GoogleAdsense exec Gokul Rajaram, and amongst its advisory board and investors are LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman and Joe Kraus, a Google Ventures partner, who was previously CEO of JotSpot.

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