Tech giant Google has disclosed on its website that ot plans to purchase JetPac, a startup that develops travel guides using Instagram photos as reference. Google did not provide additional details for the deal, but according to news reports, a statement on Jetpac’s homepage confirmed the transaction.
“We’re joining Google! Thank you for all your interest and support. We look forward to working on exciting projects with our colleagues at Google. We’ll be removing Jetpac’s apps from the App Store in the coming days, and ending support for them on 9/15,” said Jetpac.
Google will likely use Jetpac to bolster its search service for locations, with the photos adding more context. Google already announced that it uses computer vision and machine learning to let you search your own photos for things like sunsets, food and flowers. Jetpac’s CTO Pete Warden is a computer vision expert and a natural fit for a Google acquisition here.
Jetpac has a novel way of providing interesting additional information beyond the usual ones provided in Google Maps or Yelp. Jetpac’s system looks for visual cues like the amount of pictures with mustaches in them to determine the fashion style or how many hipsters are in a certain location. This provides unique contextual information about an area where the photo was taken. It can tell you whether a coffee shop is actually chill like the reviews say or help you find bars women in their 30’s love, for instance.
Jetpac also provides real-time local object recognition on video from a phone’s camera that could enhance Google Goggles. Jetpac started up in 2011 and secured a $2.4 million funding round in 2012, which included investors like Khosla Ventures, Morado Venture partners, and former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang.
