Last week, there were reports that Groupon was in talks to acquire Clever Sense, makers of the Yelp-like app Alfred. Well, it turns out that the company that tried to acquire Groupon for $6 billion last year has acquired it instead.
Google has acquired the company for an undisclosed sum. TechCrunch, which got the scoop (and was also the source on the Groupon talks), got this statement from Google:
“The Clever Sense team is at the forefront of developing a recommendation engine that connects the online and offline worlds by delivering personal and sophisticated information to users at the right time, the right place and within the right context. By combining their technology and expertise with our team and products, we’ll be able to provide even more people with intelligent, personalized recommendations for places to eat, visit and discover.”
Clever Sense co-founder and CEO Babak Pahlavan writes on the Clever Sense site:
When we embarked on our mission to curate the world around us, we knew we were taking on a huge challenge. We worked hard to build the Clever Sense Platform to tackle the problem of information overload in the real world. Using that platform, we built Alfred to create a simple, enjoyable, and powerful way to discover new places and help make decisions on the go. It’s exciting to see that our passion turned into something people around the world use regularly to make everyday decisions that are just right for them.
Today, we are excited to join Google and start a new chapter in curating the world around us! Together with the Google team, we will accelerate our efforts toward this shared vision. Google helps local businesses connect with potential customers, and its worldwide presence can bring the value of Clever Sense to a much larger audience.
Discovering local information is extremely important to both users and businesses, and the acquisition of Clever Sense will benefit both.
The journey has been nothing short of incredible. Our vision has only become bigger, and our commitment stronger. With Google and Clever Sense working together, our entire team looks forward to building more intelligent, serendipitous and magical services!
We didn’t achieve this success alone. We sincerely want to thank our users, investors, our amazing board and superb advisors. We will be your loyal fans for life.
Here’s a look at Clever Sense’s app Alfred:
Yelp, which has already complained frequently about Google’s practices in its territory is probably not going to like this acquisition very much.
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