Google has confirmed today that it has indeed acquired the popular community-based navigation app Waze. There is no word on the financial details of the deal at this moment but as per previous reports, Google could have paid around over $1 billion for Waze.
“To help you outsmart traffic, today we’re excited to announce we’ve closed the acquisition of Waze. This fast-growing community of traffic-obsessed drivers is working together to find the best routes from home to work, every day,” Google’s VP for Geo Brian McClendon noted in a blog post.
Google noted that it will using Waze’s some of the traffic update features in its maps to make them better and it will also be using Waze data to enhance search. With over 40 million user, Waze will bring in a lot of data to Google, which will help the company maintain its lead in Maps.
“Google needs to maintain supremacy in maps, as they are a key to mobile advertising. They need more ways to shore up their social efforts,” Andrew Frank, an analyst at Gartner recently told Bloomberg.
For those of who haven’t heard of Waze, it currently operates applications on Android and iOS, which alert users to potential traffic slowdowns or suggests alternative ways to reach destinations. The app uses crowd-sourced data to notify users for the traffic-snarls and other road/ traffic related incidents.
Google also noted in the blog post that Waze team will continue to operator from Israel, which it is currently based.
“To help you outsmart traffic, today we’re excited to announce we’ve closed the acquisition of Waze. This fast-growing community of traffic-obsessed drivers is working together to find the best routes from home to work, every day,” Google’s VP for Geo Brian McClendon noted in a blog post.
Google noted that it will using Waze’s some of the traffic update features in its maps to make them better and it will also be using Waze data to enhance search. With over 40 million user, Waze will bring in a lot of data to Google, which will help the company maintain its lead in Maps.
“Google needs to maintain supremacy in maps, as they are a key to mobile advertising. They need more ways to shore up their social efforts,” Andrew Frank, an analyst at Gartner recently told Bloomberg.
For those of who haven’t heard of Waze, it currently operates applications on Android and iOS, which alert users to potential traffic slowdowns or suggests alternative ways to reach destinations. The app uses crowd-sourced data to notify users for the traffic-snarls and other road/ traffic related incidents.
Google also noted in the blog post that Waze team will continue to operator from Israel, which it is currently based.
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