Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat and Bitmoji, has acquired Boulder-based Pixel8earth. The recent acquisition was confirmed by a Snap spokesperson but they declined to offer additional details.
Pixel8earth is a 3D mapping company that uses crowdsourced data from company ambassadors. Ambassadors take photos of outdoor environments and submit them to Pixel8earth. The images are then split into frames and photogrammetry is used to make 3D models of various locations.
“We are beyond excited to be part of Snap’s Map and AR teams helping them overlay computing on the world,” Sean Gorman, co-founder of Pixel8earth, wrote in a blog post. “Ambitious goals require resources and lots of smart people. We couldn’t be happier joining such a fabulous team of old and new friends. There is lots of work to be done. Stay tuned as we embark on a new journey to help bring the next generation of computing experiences to the world.”
Pixel8earth was acquired for $7.6 million, according to an April 23 SEC filing. Snap likely acquired the Boulder startup to enhance Snap Map, a personal map that shows where your Snapchat friends are located.
As TechCrunch notes, it is not yet known whether Pixel8earth operations will continue or if its tech will simply be rolled up into Snap Map and other Snap products.
Snap is currently hiring for 167 positions, including engineering, internships, and design and UX. Several positions are based in the Los Angeles area but some are remote.
Snap has been busy with the acquisition of several tech businesses lately.
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Berlin-based Fit Analytics was acquired for $124 million in March. Fit Analytics, an apparel machine learning platform, also has a presence in Chicago.
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Ariel AI joined Snap at the end of 2020, as reported by CNBC.
- Screenshop, a browser extension that allows users to shop a look from a photo, was acquired in late fall, according to The Information.
