Facebook has officially acquired Face.com after weeks of swirling rumors over the price tag. And while no official financial statement was made, media reports say the social media giant paid $100 million for the Israeli facial recognition software company.
Face.com has two popular Facebook applications: Photo Finder and Photo Tagger. The company was founded in 2009 and has offices in Tel Aviv and New York.
The deal seems to imply Facebook’s strategy regarding the mobile market.
“We love building products, and like our friends at Facebook, we think that mobile is a critical part of people’s lives as they both create and consume content, and share contentwith their social graph. By working with Facebook directly, and joining their team, we’ll have more opportunities to build amazing products that will be employed by consumers – that’s all we’ve ever wanted to do,” reads the Israeli blog.
Facebook’s buyout of Face.com is its second purchase of an Israeli company. Last year, Facebook picked up Snaptu for some $60 million.
Acquisition aside, Face.com says it will continue to support third-party developers.
“Now, lots of developers use Face.com technology to power various apps and make wonderful products. We love you guys, and the plan is to continue to support our developer community. If there are new developments you can expect to hear from us here, on the developer blog, and through our developer newsletter,” says the blog.