Google has made its first acquisition in the UK, and it’s not the kind of heavy -hitter you might expect the giant to snap up.
Visual search company, Plink, is just a two-man start-up, based out of Oxford. It’s founders Mark Cummins and James Philbin are now both joining Google to work on Google Goggles.
Publically launched just four months ago, the site shot past 50,000 users in just four short weeks.
The company’s first product, PlinkArt, enables users to identify paintings and artworks with just a snap from their phone’s camera. Once recognised, users can read information on the artwork and artist, share their favourite pieces with friends, or even order a print to hang on their wall.
“We started Plink to bring the power of visual search to everyone, and we’re delighted to be taking a big step towards that goal today,” said Cummins and Philbin in a posting on Plink’s company blog.
“Google has already shown that it’s serious about investing in this space with Google Goggles, and for the Plink team the opportunity to take our algorithms to Google-scale was just too exciting to pass up.”
It adds, “The visual search engines of today can do some pretty cool things, but they still have a long long way to go.
“We’re looking forward to helping the Goggles team build a visual search engine that works not just for paintings or book covers, but for everything you see around you.”
The move highlights how Google is continuing to invest in Android with Goggles launched in December 2009. By upping its search offering it aims to remain ahead of the game against the challenge of Yahoo and Bing.
“Google was founded as a search company, and we continue to dedicate more time and energy to search than anything else we do,” said a company spokesperson at the time.
It goes to show, if you can’t beat ’em, then buy ‘em.