US tech giant Amazon has another big addition to its growing arsenal of Data Analysis and search technology. Amazon has secretly acquired a Santa Barbara-based data analysis and smart search startup last May.
According to LA Times, the Seattle-based tech company acquired Graphiq to help improve it's Alexa virtual assistant and related services. Some analysts see the deal as a big win for Amazon. The LA Times, which got the full details of the story, cited four reliable sources familiar with the deal, though they were unable to comment further.
Graphiq, what makes it so important for Amazon
Founded in 2009 and Based in Santa Barbara, California, Graphiq is a data analysis and smart search platform that takes billions of pieces of data and translates them into graphs and other readable visualizations. Originally, Graphiq has started out as FindTheBest, a search comparison website. However, in 2015, it rebranded to Graphiq to reflect the startup’s broader range of data search and visualization services. Graphiq was founded by Kevin O’Connor, who also founded DoubleClick, an ad management and ad serving services that Google acquired in 2008 for a whopping $1.3 billion.
Graphiq collects and organizes details about people, products, and places to come out with a more organized online research.
Its technology will allow users to better compare services and products in one particular space, a potential big help for Alexa. Later, the startup introduced new features to tailor comparison around individual preferences and has also rolled out apps that focused more on specific topics.
For Amazon, this could be the shot they been waiting for.
The Seattle-based tech giant is currently waging brutal war on some of the tech world’s most laser-focused companies, which include Apple, Alphabet, Baidu, and Microsoft. Amazon hopes that the latest acquisition would provide them the technology and expertise needed to keep with the growing competition in the market.
How much the deal cost
As mentioned earlier by LA Times, the deal was worth at least tens of millions of dollars. Both Amazon and Graphiq have declined to comment on the financial terms of the deal, but some estimated it at around $50 million.
The deal will give Amazon a new Californian outpost, something the tech giant has been looking for in the past. Amazon recently began hiring tech people in the Santa Barbara, California areas to work on Amazon’s Alexa.
In addition to the Santa Barbara outpost, Amazon also maintains software development offices in Irvine and San Diego in California.
