Snapchat acquires Bitmoji maker for US$100 million

In what looks like a way to compete with Facebook in the mobile messaging market, Snapchat has snapped up Bitmoji creator, Bitstrips Inc., for over $100 million USD in cash and stock. If you’re unfamiliar with the Bitmoji app, it lets users create cartoon avatars based on themselves that they can send via a special smartphone keyboard. This acquisition is seen to help Snapchat further its library of visual filters and lenses to its over 100 million users. Earlier this month, Facebook bought Masquerade Technologies to let users enhance their videos with filters and “swap” faces with someone else in the picture, a popular feature on Snapchat.

Source: MarketWatch