Facebook will acquire mobile application maker Onavo
With mobile technology ever-evolving, and more businesses looking for ways to incorporate bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, recent company acquisitions continue to be centered around mobile solutions.
Facebook announced that it purchased Onavo, which is a mobile app business that also helps people cut cellular phone costs through more efficient use of data. According to Reuters, the technology acquisition will help Facebook provide internet access to underserved communities. Mainly, this will be done by Onavo's technology reducing the amount of data downloads required to run mobile internet applications.
"We expect Onavo's data compression technology to play a central role in our mission to connect more people to the internet, and their analytic tools will help us provide better, more efficient mobile products," a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters.
TechCrunch reported that the acquisition could be anywhere from $100 million to $200 million.
The news source explained that the purchase makes sense for Facebook, as the social networking site has been working to improve its mobile offerings lately. Additionally, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also said that he wants to make Facebook – and the internet in general – more accessible to users.
Onavo officials wrote a blog post, further explaining the technology acquisition. Company leaders are excited to join the Facebook team and play a critical role in "using data more efficiently, so that more people around the world can connect and share."
The statement added that Onavo will remain open and that the Israeli-based company will simply be transformed into Facebook's Israel location. Onavo's commitment to privacy will also not change, it said, and customers can continue to expect the same high level of service.