Giphy is one of the largest social GIF-making platforms on the internet providing tools for creating, remixing and sharing GIFs. Now, Facebook has confirmed that it will acquire Giphy for a sum of around $400 million (nearly €370 million), revealed Axios. But there is no official word from the social networking giant regarding the terms of this deal.
For years, Facebook has been working with Giphy’s API for sourcing GIFs within its apps such as Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. It has been revealed that 50% of the overall Giphy traffic comes from Facebook’s apps with Instagram contributing to half of this traffic.
Founded in 2013, Giphy was initially a search engine for GIFs. Its major product expansion was the ability to share GIFs via Facebook followed by the integration with Twitter.
What’s next for Giphy?
Despite the acquisition, Giphy will function as a part of the Instagram team to make it easier to send stickers and GIFs within Instagram stories and direct messages. As of now, the platform will remain the same for Giphy users, claims Facebook.
“People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to Giphy’s APIs and Giphy’s creative community will still be able to create great content,” Vishal Shah, Instagram’s VP of product, said in a blog post announcing the news.
Apart from Facebook and its apps, several other services such as Twitter, Slack, Pinterest, Reddit, etc. rely on Giphy’s API for GIFs. Given that the platform will operate the same way at least for now, these platforms should be able to use Giphy as they use the platform now. But this could not be permanent as many of these services are direct rivals to Facebook.
Stock photo from Deposit Photos
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