Facebook has acquired friend.ly, a Mountain View, Calif.-based startup that makes a Facebook app for asking and answering questions with other people on the social network. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Mostly, the deal seems to be an acq-hire: The friend.ly app will continue to work as it always has, but going forward, friend.ly’s 10-person team will be working on new products at Facebook, friend.ly said in a blog post announcing the deal.
Friend.ly's team (click to enlarge)
Friend.ly was founded in 2010 and has reportedly raised $ 5 million in venture capital from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Balderton Capital and angel investors including Ron Conway and Jeff Clavier. Typical friend.ly questions are reminiscent of those asked on formspring.me, but they tend to be a bit tamer: “What would you take with you on a desert island?” and “Are long-distance relationships possible?”
Here’s Facebook’s statement on the deal:
We’re excited to announce that we recently acquired friend.ly, a Silicon Valley startup that created a really compelling way for people to express themselves and meet others through answering questions. We’ve admired the team’s efforts for some time now, and we’re looking forward to having Ed [Baker, friend.ly’s CEO] and his colleagues make a big impact on the way millions of people connect and engage with each other on Facebook.
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