Instagram has just bought Giphy
The social media giant plans to integrate the GIF library into Instagram
Facebook has acquired Giphy, the GIF-curating platform, and are in the works of integrating it into the Instagram team. The deal was estimated to be worth £330m, ($400m) but Facebook would not confirm the final selling price.
Instagram VP of Products Vishal Shah explained, ‘GIPHY makes everyday conversations more entertaining, and so we plan to further integrate their GIF library into Instagram and our other apps so that people can find just the right way to express themselves.’
Shah also disclosed that non-Instagram users would still have access to Giphy’s library of GIFs and stickers, however many of the sites that use Giphy such as Twitter and Pinterest are Facebook’s competitors.
Giphy is one of the largest sites for creating GIFs and accessing them. It is one of the fastest and simplest ways to search and share GIFs and stickers across social channels. At the moment its primary competitor is Imgur. Fifty per cent of Giphys already come from Facebook, while over half that derives from Instagram.
Facebook has stated: ‘We know that bringing the GIPHY team’s creativity and talent together with ours will only accelerate how people use visual communication to connect with each other.’