Los Angeles — Following the launch of its own HTML5 app platform, the social media networking humongous Facebook furthered its commitment one step ahead Tuesday, announced that it has apparently concluded yet another small acquisition, snapping up a team of mobile app developers from a small San Francisco startup company Strobe, bolstering the social networking giant’s efforts to expand its offerings on smartphones and tablet PCs.
Mobile has been an essential element for Facebook this year, and the acquisition of Strobe adds another tool to the social network’s chest in a bid to strengthen its hand in the market.
The social media network outfit said that it had completed a “talent acquisition” from Strobe Corp. The deal does not include any of Strobe’s technology, according to Facebook spokesman Jonny Thaw.
The move, of which terms were not revealed, was announced in a blog post, Strobe founder (and creator of open source JavaScript framework SproutCore) Charles Jolley, claiming the deal will see the firm’s vision of transforming the way “people use their mobile phones through apps available everywhere, anytime, on any device” realized.
In addition, the Strobe service will continue to exist in its current beta form. SproutCore will live on as an independent project, he adds:
We are happy to announce that, as of this week, the Strobe team is joining Facebook!
Strobe was founded on the belief that HTML5 can transform the way average people use their mobile phones through apps that are available everywhere, anytime, on any device. Now we’re joining the talented people at Facebook to help develop innovative mobile experiences for their users around the world.
For now, the Strobe service will continue to be available to existing users in its existing beta form. We will provide updates by email if and when this changes. SproutCore, meanwhile, will continue as an independent project.
Strobe has been a fantastic adventure. Thank you to everyone who has supported us. We look forward to working with you again in our future roles.
Sincerely,
– The Strobe Team
Sprouting Success:
Furthermore, the management employees from Strobe will merge with Facebook, and the service will remain operational in beta form, Strobe disclosed in a post on its blog, adding:
“Now we are linking up with the most talented people at Facebook to help develop innovative mobile experiences for their users around the globe,” detailed Jolley. The Strobe website lists 15 staff members, including management.
Facebook poured in with a statement of its own:
We are thrilled to confirm that we have completed a talent acquisition for Strobe Corp., a mobile-app-development startup based in San Francisco.
“Founder and CEO Charles Jolley will join our mobile engineering team, and we are looking forward to the major effect the Strobe team will undoubtedly make at Facebook,” the company said in a statement.
Facebook, the world’s No. 1 social media network with more than 800 million members, is increasingly focused on developing mobile versions of its service. The acquisition of Strobe is the latest move in Facebook’s unofficial goal of buying twice as many startups in 2011 as the previous year, when there were seven such buys.
{iframe width=”400″ height=”300″}http://player.vimeo.com/video/28528883?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0{/iframe}
Introducing Strobe from Strobe Developer Relations on Vimeo.