Facebook is buying Giffy for 400 million – variety

Facebook is holding Giffy in a 400 million deal, and plans to integrate the services of social giant GIF and sticker-sharing agency with Instagram initially.

“Gifi makes everyday conversations more enjoyable and so we plan to integrate their GIF library further into Instagram and our other applications so people can find the right way to express themselves,” Facebook said in a acquisition announcement Friday.

The deal is valued at $ 400 million, according to an Azeos report citing unnamed sources.

By the end of 2019, Giffy claimed that its “Visual Expression and Creation” service had reached nearly 700 million people and that users sent about 10 billion pieces of content every day.

According to Facebook, 50% of Giffy’s traffic comes from the Facebook family of apps – and half of it comes from Instagram alone.

“By bringing Instagram and GIF together, we can make it easier for people to find the perfect GIF and stickers in stories and live areas,” Facebook said. “Both of our services are major creators and big supporters of the artist community and will continue to be so. Together, we can make it easier for anyone to create their work and share it with the world. “

In a separate blog post, Giffy praised her new owner. The company wrote in a blog post, “Instagram is revolutionizing self-expression. “More than 1 billion people use Instagram to express their feelings and how they feel about them – we can’t wait to help these people become more animated!”

Founders of GFI, founded in 2013, include BetaWorks, Layer Hippo, CAA Ventures, IVP, DFJ Growth, GGV Capital, CMC Capital Growth and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The New York-based company has raised 150.9 million so far.

Late last year, Giffy expanded to add video to the sound of its millions of shareable animated GIFs and stickers.

Naturally, GP has celebrated its departure sale on Facebook with one Custom animated GIF: