Google close to buying Israeli mapping start-up Waze: report

Home Business Google close to buying Israeli mapping start-up Waze: report 10-06-2013 10:01 AM Ammon News - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Google is close to buying Waze for $1.3 billion, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday, potentially trumping rival offers for the Israeli mapping start-up. The report on the website of financial newspaper Globes did not cite sources or provide further details. Last month sources told Reuters the Internet search giant was in talks to acquire Waze, while a second Israeli newspaper reported Facebook was willing to pay up to $1 billion for the firm. Facebook is delving deeper into mobile technology as it tries to expand its user base. Waze is a crowd-sourced, mobile-oriented navigation device for drivers that relies on information provided by its 47 million members to populate its maps. Mapping services are among the five most-used applications on smartphones and are crucial to engaging and retaining mobile users. The key advantage of owning, rather than licensing, a mapping service is that it allows the product to be personalized for users. Officials at Waze were not reachable for immediate comment.

Home Business

Google close to buying Israeli mapping start-up Waze: report

10-06-2013 10:01 AM

Ammon News - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Google is close to buying Waze for $1.3 billion, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday, potentially trumping rival offers for the Israeli mapping start-up.

The report on the website of financial newspaper Globes did not cite sources or provide further details.

Last month sources told Reuters the Internet search giant was in talks to acquire Waze, while a second Israeli newspaper reported Facebook was willing to pay up to $1 billion for the firm.

Facebook is delving deeper into mobile technology as it tries to expand its user base.

Waze is a crowd-sourced, mobile-oriented navigation device for drivers that relies on information provided by its 47 million members to populate its maps.

Mapping services are among the five most-used applications on smartphones and are crucial to engaging and retaining mobile users. The key advantage of owning, rather than licensing, a mapping service is that it allows the product to be personalized for users.

Officials at Waze were not reachable for immediate comment.

no comments

Notice

All comments are reviewed and posted only if approved.
Ammon News reserves the right to delete any comment at any time, and for any reason, and will not publish any comment containing offense or deviating from the subject at hand, or to include the names of any personalities or to stir up sectarian, sectarian or racial strife, hoping to adhere to a high level of the comments as they express The extent of the progress and culture of Ammon News' visitors, noting that the comments are expressed only by the owners.

name : *
email
	show email
comment : *
Verification code :	Refresh write code :