Kima Labs

Feb 20, 2012

Mobile bar-coding and tap apps Groupon is certainly continuing its buying spree. The daily dealing gorilla has just added Kima Labs to the purchased side of the equation. The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed. Kima Labs was quick to post this message on its homepage; We’re excited to let you know that Kima Labs, the team behind Barcode Hero, has been acquired by Groupon. We’re looking forward to jumping in and focusing our efforts there, but in order to do that, we’ll be shutting down Barcode Hero. The Barcode Hero iPhone app and web site will be unavailable after Monday, February 20. Your Barcode Hero data will be available for you to download now through March 16. See below for details. Thanks for using Barcode Hero-whether you were a loyal scanner or just trying it out. It was amazing to see those of you who scanned thousands of items in your first week, and the variety of items you scanned, from DVDs to gadgets to hot sauce. We had fun creating the app, and we hope you had fun using it. Thanks also to our investors, advisers, friends and family, who have supported us over the last two years. We couldn’t have done this without you. Yours, Blake, Jason, and Andrew The Barcode Hero Team Why Kima Labs? Kima Labs created the mobile barcode reading app Barcode Hero and mobile payment app TapBuy. As a result of the acquisition, Barcode Hero will be closing down its service effective Monday, February 20. That means its iPhone app will no longer be available to download after that date. Those who already use the app will have until March 16 to download their data. As for TapBuy, it is being wound down as well. Users of its location-based deals will be able to continue using the service until a finite date has been issued. TapBuy not only offers daily deals, but it also processes transactions using credit card information provided by users. It’s a platform that allows users to participate in discounted deals and additionally adding coupons to those purchases. Acquiring Kima Labs adds a significant piece to the mobile activity puzzle for Groupon. Many of these recent acquisitions have been overseen by Michael Shim, Vice President of mobile. Many may recall that Michael came over to the big G side last year after saying adios to Yahoo. Groupon gave TechCrunch the following statement on the transaction:âKima Labs has developed popular apps that make mobile transactions easier, more fun and more of a possibility for merchants. We’re excited by the team’s ability to create technology that consumers love, and we believe they’ll be strong assets in our pursuit to change the way people shop.❠Without a doubt, this continues to hammer home the point that Groupon sees continued and tremendous opportunity in the future of mobility. Obviously Groupon will be promoting daily deals for those on the move; however, as the acquisitions continue to mount, it appears that the company may have plans on playing a much larger role in mobile e-commerce. Source: TechCrunch   function win1(id) {console.log(id); window.open("widget_win.php?cid="+id,"Get Widget","status=no,scrollbars=no,menubar=no,width=500,height=200,toolbar=no");}