A number of recent reports have suggested Apple has acquired
Topsy Labs Inc. The company, which was co-founded by Indian-Americans Vipul Ved Prakash and Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, is based in San Francisco.
Considered an affiliate partner of Twitter, Topsy's solutions analyze Twitter Tweets (and inclusions to some other social media platforms) to establish what is 'trending'. It also measures campaign exposure and analyses conversations to establish what influence they may have. Although officially there has been no comment from either Apple or Topsy, and no official statement on the deal or its cost released, a number of sources have suggested Apple paid $200 million for the company.
Apple's stocks rose to $560 on the rumor, although it is unclear whether the purchase means Apple is stepping into the social media arena. Some analysts suggest Apple might use Topsy to establish underlying Internet and social media trends so it can improve the quality of the recommendations it makes for finding apps and content like movies and TV. In addition, it might be used to improve Siri voice searches.
Vipul Ved Prakash, Topsy's Chief Technology Officer is a "pioneer in the field of collaborative filtering", according to the company's website. Before co-founding Topsy in 2006 he co-founded Cloudmark in 2001, establishing an "open-source spam filter" for the Internet. The company acquired one billion subscribers by 2009.
Do you know of any other companies involved in acquisitions? Let us know the details. Add your comments below.
