It seems search engines are in a race to acquire apps to improve their search functionalities. Recently, Yahoo bought local recommendations app Zofari, which said in a post that it will “continue to build amazing discovery experiences at a scale we’ve only dreamed of.”
The San Francisco-based startup says it will “deliver brilliant local recommendations in the fastest way possible, and essentially, make the world an easier place to explore.” By acquiring Zofari, Yahoo will be able to bolster its local search capabilities.
‘Pandora for Places’
The self-proclaimed “Pandora for Places” app comes in handy for users looking to discover new places within a city. Users will be asked to answer suggested prompts like “Favorite place to take a date?” or “What’s your favourite place to grab a good pizza?” Based on their answers, Zofari will offer the most similar restaurants, cafes, bars or neighbourhoods near their location. The suggested places are chosen based on “familiar ideas like ‘bohemian vibe’, ‘great for a first date’ and ‘swanky’”. The results change whenever a user changes locations.
The startup says it has “created some cool contextualization technology that enables us to look at a place and extract granular information about it, transforming bland, vanilla attributes like ratings and dollar signs into the familiar ideas that people use to make real-world decisions.”
The collaborative project with Yahoo wasn’t disclosed, but the Zofari team expressed their excitement about the deal.
At the moment, the Zofari app is still available on Google Play, App Store and mobile web platforms.
The startup was founded by former Google/YouTube Marketing Manager Nate Weinstein and his long-time friend Jason Kobilka. It raised $150k in seed funding from friends and family in 2013.
Related articles across the web
Zofari Debuts A “Pandora For Places” On iPhone & Android
Yahoo Acquires ‘Pandora For Places’ App Zofari
Yahoo acquires ‘Pandora for places’ startup Zofari
Yahoo picks up Zofari, a recommendation tool for places
The post Yahoo Acquires Zofari: Search Engine Takes ‘Pandora for Places’ App Into Its Fold appeared first on iMOB - Increase My Online Business.