Google acquires first UK firm

 

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By Hani Megerisi

Posted on 12 Apr 2010 at 13:58

Google has made its first UK acquisition, buying visual search company Plink for an undisclosed amount.

Plink is the creator of PlinkArt for Android, which allows users to photograph a painting and see further information on it, including a biography of the painter and details of the time-period and other pieces in the movement.

"It's time to be much more optimistic about the European tech start-up scene,” said Anil Hansjee, Google's head of corporate development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

There is a lot of innovation here and now the tech eco-system, across academia, corporates, start-ups, venture capital, and Government, is responding and supporting this effort

“There is a lot of innovation here and now the tech eco-system, across academia, corporates, start-ups, venture capital, and government, is responding and supporting this effort. In this light we are delighted with our first UK acquisition at Google. Plink Search is an early stage company but one which has taken advantage of many of the ecosystem's offerings to get going and build a great and useful solution.”

In a post on their blog, Plink founders Mark Cummins and James Philbin said their art search app would still be available, but that they would be focussing on developing for Google Goggles.

This is Google’s own visual search venture, launched in December last year. It allows users to photograph things such as books, landmarks, shops or even names and contact information and the app will launch a Google search to find further details.

“We’re looking forward to helping the Goggles team build a visual search engine that works not just for paintings or book covers, but for everything you see around you,” added Cummins and Philbin.

“It’s been a short but exciting ride – only four months since our public launch. We shot past 50,000 users in just four short weeks.”