Facebook Buying Popular GIF Platform Giphy In $400 Million Deal
MENLO PARK (CBS SF / CNN) -- One of Facebook's biggest acquisitions in recent memory is for a service commonly used to find GIFs of adorable puppies, Real Housewives and literal dumpster fires with broad metaphorical potential.
Facebook, headquartered in Menlo Park, said Friday that it had acquired Giphy, a popular search engine for short, looping videos and animations called GIFs. The service will become part of Facebook's Instagram team, making it easier for people to find relevant GIFs for their Stories and direct messages.
The deal is reportedly worth $400 million, according to Axios. A Facebook spokesperson told CNN Business the company isn't disclosing the terms of the deal.
While the rumored price tag may sound steep for a platform used to find and send GIFs of Homer Simpson disappearing into a bush, it's actually less than Giphy was valued at in prior funding rounds.
Giphy, which was founded in 2013, already offers its stickers on Instagram Stories and its GIF search is available in Instagram direct messages. While Giphy has its own app, its GIFs are commonly used on other services, including workplace chat app Slack and Apple's iMessage feature. Facebook did not say whether it will continue to integrate with those other services.
Giphy also has a searchable online database and will continue to operate its own library. Facebook said people will still be able to upload GIFs and "GIPHY's creative community will still be able to create great content."
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