Vimeo absorbs iOS app maker Echograph, bets on the GIF-making craze
It's not often we hear about Vimeo making any type of acquisition, but today the company let it be known that it has picked up the team (and assets) behind Echograph, an iOS application that focuses on turning videos into animated GIFs. What's more, Vimeo, as part of the move, is making Echograph a gratis download going forward, marking a notable shift from the previous charge of about three bucks for the app. According to Vimeo, Echograph creator Nick Alt will also go from CEO of Clear-Media, the app's previous owner, to taking on the role of Vice President of Mobile at the video-focused firm, adding that his "proven track record of building innovative video apps made it a perfect fit for Vimeo." No details were given on the deal's financial terms, but we can only imagine a good amount of fancy GIFs were made in order to help celebrate the new property.
Show full PR text
Vimeo Acquires Echograph iOS App And Appoints App Creator Nick Alt Head Of Mobile
NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Vimeo today announced the acquisition of Echograph, the popular iPhone and iPad app from Clear-Media. Echograph is a premium app that creates beautiful videos that look like animated GIFs. As part of this acquisition, Vimeo will offer the previously $2.99 app for free from the iTunes App Store .
The Echograph team will report to Vimeo's President Dae Mellencamp . App creator Nick Alt will transition from his role as Clear-Media's CEO to Vimeo's Vice President of Mobile, leading development across all platforms. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We chose Echograph because it helps people easily create beautiful high quality video content," said Kerry Trainor , Vimeo CEO. "That, with Nick's proven track record of building innovative video apps made it a perfect fit for Vimeo."
"Vimeo to me is the most innovative video platform that empowers its users to share quality content," said Echograph creator Nick Alt . "I'm very excited for our teams to come together to take Echograph to the next level and develop a new fleet of amazing mobile video apps."
About Vimeo
Vimeo® is the high-quality video platform for creative people. Vimeo's mission is to empower and inspire people around the world to create, share and discover videos. As one of the world's largest creative networks, Vimeo has over 15M registered members and reaches a global audience of more than 93M each month. Founded in 2004 and based in New York City, Vimeo, LLC is a subsidiary of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI)
