Spotsetter, a location-based social search engine, reportedly acquired by Apple

June 9, 2014

Apple has reportedly snatched up Spotsetter, an app and service that provided personalized recommendations for places to go. Spotsetter was co-founded in 2012 by Stephen Tse and Johnny Lee. Apple apparently has no plans for the app and service itself, but instead wanted to acquire the technology at Spotsetter and the two co-founders.

Apple has been talking with Spotsetter for quite some time, but moved quickly to close the deal last week after other companies found out and became interested. A blog post on the Spotsetter website from co-founder Johnny Lee says the app will be closing down.

Some of the Spotsetter team has also moved to Apple, but not everyone made the cut. Spotsetter had apps available on Android and iOS, but also had plans for the wearable space.

The Spotsetter service itself would pull in content from social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Foursqure, as well as content from over 30 review sites like Zagat, Yelp, TripAdvisor and others. The end result was a service that could combine recommendations from friends and trusted review sites to help users find places to go.

How do you think Apple will use the two co-founders and the technology developed at Spotsetter?

Source: TechCrunch