Sep 13, 2010 12:07 GMT  ·  By

Google is said to have acquired a second Israeli startup, Quiksee. The startup makes a software which enables users to create 360 degree panoramas and video tours from their own footage. Google is said to have paid $10 million for the company.

Neither Google, nor Quiksee, also known as MentorWave Technologies, have confirmed the acquisition or commented on the matter. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on the deal.

Quiksee raised $3.5 million from venture investors Ofer Hi-Tech and Docor International and attracted some funding from angel investors as well.

$10 million isn't much of an exit for the kind of funding the company has raised, but revenue is estimated to be minor.

Quiksee enables users to create visually impressive 360-degree tours from videos they shoot themselves. The site provides instructions on how to shoot the video to make it work with the software.

After the 360 tour is completed, users can set its location using Google Maps and make it available to the world. The technology is not exactly revolutionary, but the end result is polished enough to make it useful.

While the two products are not identical, the tool has a lot in common with Google's Street View service. Google uses cars mounted with specialized equipment to capture the 360-degree imagery available on Google Maps.

Since the acquisition hasn't been confirmed, it's unclear what Google plans to do with the technology. It does seem like Google made the move to get the team working for the company, but the technology itself may have been of interest.

One interesting aspect is that Quiksee enables users to create video tours inside buildings. This could be used by companies to create a 360 tour of their place of business for potential customers to explore before visiting the location.