Google has bought six month-old electronics price comparison site SparkBuy, as the in internet giant looks to boost its product search capabilities. The Seattle based start-up lets users search for consumer electronics based on numerous preferences. SparkBuy was founded by the successful tech entrepreneur Dan Shapiro, who also founded Ontela which was sold to photo […]
Google has bought six month-old electronics price comparison site SparkBuy, as the in internet giant looks to boost its product search capabilities. The Seattle based start-up lets users search for consumer electronics based on numerous preferences. SparkBuy was founded by the successful tech entrepreneur Dan Shapiro, who also founded Ontela which was sold to photo sharing platform Photobucket.
25/05/2011
Built in late 2010 and launched just two months ago in March, Shapiro created the VC and angel-backed Sparkbuy because “using traditional search engines such as Bing and Google to search for laptops, TVs or other electronics is kind of like trying to find a ‘needle in a haystack.’”
The deal means the SparkBuy website will no longer function and the three-man team behind it will join Google’s offices in Kirkland, Washington.
Google is expected to use the SparkBuy search engine in its Google Product Search feature.
The SparkBuy team said they will be working on Google’s new mortgage, credit card, and bank account comparison site Advisor, which launched last week.
Sparkbuy managed to raise $1 million in venture capital funding, and the rich search function that the company uses obviously caught people’s attention at Google.
“We’re thrilled that Sparkbuy will be joining Google,” Google said in a statement. “They have built an impressive comparison shopping site that is simple in design yet powerful for consumers, and we think their expertise, vision and energy will be a great addition to our Kirkland office.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
