Yahoo has bought Summly, a news reader app created by UK teenager Nick D’Aloisio, in a deal reportedly worth millions of pounds.
Launched back in December 2011, Summly is an iPhone and iPad app that aims to simplify the way consumers get information on their mobile devices given that most articles are formatted for browsing with mouse clicks.
“Summly solves this by delivering snapshots of stories, giving you a simple and elegant way to find the news you want, faster than ever before,” Yahoo said in a statement posted on its corporate blog.
Following the deal, the Summly app will close, but the technology behind it will be used by Yahoo.
D’Aloisio has been given a job at Yahoo and will be joined by several of Summly’s “top staff” in new roles at the internet giant in the next few weeks.
Yahoo has no disclosed the amount it paid for Summly, but the Financial Times cites a source close to the transaction that it paid almost $30m for the app.
Summly was chosen by Apple as one of the Best Apps of 2012, and the app has provided over 90 million summaries in just a few short months.
On the Summly website, D’Aloisio announced that he is “delighted to announce Summly has signed an agreement to be acquired by Yahoo!. Our vision is to simplify how we get information and we are thrilled to continue this mission with Yahoo!’s global scale and expertise.”
“After spending some time on campus, I discovered that Yahoo! has an inspirational goal to make people’s daily routines entertaining and meaningful, and mobile will be a central part of that vision,” he added. “For us, it’s the perfect fit.”
http://ycorpblog.com/2013/03/25/yahoo-to-acquire-summly/
http://summly.com/
