Snapchat buys a search and discovery app for $100 million
It could be a way to introduce those features into the service.
Snapchat has grown up quite a bit in the past year, from adding original content from the likes of NBC to introducing Memories, an option for a more permanent archive of photos. Now it could be venturing into search as well. The Information has reported that the company is in the middle of acquiring Vurb, a search and recommendation app, for more than $100 million.
Vurb works with a slew of third parties like Fandango and Uber to ramp up the traditional search and discovery experience. So, for example, searching for a nearby restaurant will bring up a Yelp review along with a link to Uber so you can order a car to get there. It can even tie in recommendations based on the time of day, the weather and your location.
It's unclear on what Snapchat plans to do with the acquisition, but a Snapchat take on search and discovery could potentially be pretty powerful. The Information theorizes that Vurb could let users link in media and maps in their Snaps or recommend Stories and media to each other. One of the biggest complaints against Snapchat is that discovery -- finding people to follow -- is pretty difficult, so Vurb could be a way to improve that.
