Russia: Search engine, Yandex, has acquired Israeli start-up KitLocate, the developer of an energy-efficient geolocation technology for mobile devices. Market estimates the Yandex-Kitlocate deal to be worth seven million Euros.
KitLocate provides a software development kit for geo-fencing, motion detection and social location.Yandex will use these capabilities in its own location-based mobile search app and other services, including in the personalisation of mobile search and targeted advertising. It will also offer the software development kit to other developers.
KitLocate's technology can be applied in mobile applications for which data on a user's movements are essential, in order to offer services at the right location and at the right time.
In the past few years Yandex has acquired and invested in about a dozen startups, including in Israel. In 2010, Yandex became a shareholder in Israeli company Face.com, which is developing facial recognition technology. Facebook has since purchased Yandex's stake in Face.com and uses the technology in its social network.
Source: Yandex
