14 DAY TRIAL // Google is said to be close to completing yet another acquisition and, for once, it’s not another social gaming company. The search company is said to be interested in Like.com, a site which enables users to search and shop for products which are visually similar.
Google is probably most interested in the visual search technology that powers the site. The company has been beefing up its visual search capabilities, centered on the Google Goggles project.
Goggles enables users to snap a photo with their phones and the retrieve information about the objects or even the landmarks in them. The technology is still under heavy development, but is already impressive.
Earlier this year, Google acquired an UK startup, Plink, which used image-recognition technology to enable users to get more info on works of art from the photos they uploaded. Plink’s founders went on to work with the Google Goggles team to improve the technology.
Like.com’s technology certainly fits the bill. At heart, it’s a shopping site, but it enables customers to refine their searches and find the product they want with a series of filters based on image-recognition.
However, Like.com is already a working business. The company behind it, Riya, has raised $50 million to date, since launching in 2005. The site gets about $50 million per year in revenue.
Now, TechCrunch says the company is on the verge of being acquired by Google. The price is said to be “north of $100 million,” which sounds a bit on the low end, considering the revenue the company sees and the money it raised so far.
Neither company is commenting on the rumor, but the tech blog cites several sources. It should be interesting to see what Google has in mind for Like.com if it is indeed looking to acquire it.
Normally, if it were a pure technology acquisition, Google would integrate the team into its own and kill off the product, but Like.com is doing OK on its own.