Facebook has welcomed GIPHY into part of the Instagram team. The social media giant reportedly acquired the animated photos platform for $400 million with the plan to integrate the service to all Facebook families of apps which include Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger among others.
Facebook said it is integrating Giphy into its family of apps so that users can always express themselves the best way possible. People usually apply Giphy animated images as a form of visual expression to reveal their moods and what they want to say. It is usually used in communication chats, social media posts, as well as comments and reactions to posts.
“GIPHY, a leader in visual expression and creation, is joining the Facebook company today as part of the Instagram team,” Facebook wrote on their blog. “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.”
With millions of animated images in its library, Giphy made it possible for several social media organizations to integrate the platform into their digital services. Apple uses a measure of Giphy photos in its iMessage app. Both Slack and Twitter are well known to utilize Giphy’s GIFs in their products. Facebook already uses GIFs before this time on its platform and for Instagram and WhatsApp as well as Messenger.
In fact, Facebook made it clear that 50% of Giphy’s traffic comes from Facebook users with half of these coming from Instagram users.
“Fifty percent of GIPHY’s traffic comes from the Facebook family of apps, half of that from Instagram alone,” Facebook wrote. “By bringing Instagram and GIPHY together, we can make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers in Stories and Direct.”
The social media giant said that Giphy will continue to operate its library and its global content collection and that other API partners can continue to access Giphy for their products and service offerings. Facebook said they might invest further in Giphy’s technology and relationships with other partners so that people and businesses everywhere can enjoy the best of the service.
“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,” Facebook assured.
Giphy was established in 2013 and Facebook tried to acquire it in 2015 but the company refused so that it can explore business opportunities with other social media companies. Since its inception, the New York-based company has raised up to $150 million in VC funding, and it is now valued at around $600 million.
Source: cnbc.com