14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has acquired Embark, a small company which makes free, fast, and simple mobile apps for mass transit riders worldwide.
Former WSJ reporter Jessica Lassin has been on the “mapageddon” case for a while, tracking Apple’s investments in its crusade against Google Maps as it beefs up on its own mapping offerings.
The latest attempt to check-mate Google is the acquisition of Embark, a startup in Silicon Valley which sells several mapping applications with public transportation in mind.
“We don’t know how much Apple paid for the several-person team it acquired very recently. But we heard from people knowledgeable about the deal that the company plans to directly integrate Embark’s technology into Apple Maps,” Lassin reports.
While Embark’s iOS apps are still available for download, the company’s Android apps have been pulled.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on this particular occurrence, but did confirm the acquisition to Lassin.
“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” the spokeswoman said.