Internet search services provider Google, Inc., US, is reportedly set to acquire Like.com, a visual search and e-commerce company that lets users search for products using images. Media reports estimate the deal size at $100 million.
This is not the first time that Google has looked into visual search. It first made an attempt to acquire Like.com's predecessor, Riya.com, in 2005. Like.com uses core technology developed by Riya, which was focused on facial recognition.
Like.com, co-founded in August 2004 by Munjal Shah and Burak Gokturk, has often been named as one of the best startup companies. The company's image-matching technology has certain important patents, making the acquisition economically and legally beneficial to Google.
Like.com has shown interest in developing visual search technology. Google provides a similar feature on its own search engine. In December 2009, it launched a visual search application for mobile phones. Google had also acquired UK-based startup Plink, which develops mobile visual search applications, for an undisclosed sum in April 2010.
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