Facebook Acquires Gowalla
According to a report, social networking giant Facebook has acquired Gowalla, a location sharing service, for an undisclosed sum. Facebook declined to confirm the rumor, saying it doesn't comment on rumors. According to an anonymous source, however, there are plans in place for most of Gowalla's employees, including it6s founder Josh Williams, to relocate to Facebook's offices in Palo Alto, California, where the team will begin helping out with Facebook's Timeline feature, launched at the recent F8 conference and gradually being rolled out to Facebook users.
Founded in 2009, Gowalla is based in Austin, Texas and tried unsuccessfully to take on Foursquare in location based social offerings. Unable to attract users at a similar rate as Foursquare, Gowalla recently shifted its focus, rebranding itself as a travel guide. The company had raised about $10 million since its inception from a variety of investors. Once the deal is finalized, a handful of Gowalla employees will stay behind in Austin, working out of Facebook's office there.
According to the source, it has not yet been determined whether the Gowalla app will be kept alive, though it's not likely considering Facebook's history of acquiring startups for their talent and then killing off their existing work. Some of the companies Facebook has done this with in the past are Beluga, Hot Potato, Snaptu and more than a dozen others. Facebook has ramped up its acquisitions this year, as it is nearing a total of 20 for the year after acquiring just 10 in 2010.
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