In the wake of new Google Voice announcements, we’ve just learned that Google has acquired SayNow, a startup in the telephony space. The terms of the deal have not yet been released.In a brief annoucement on its website, SayNow’s co-founders write, “Through the web, smartphones, and even land lines, our products brought communities together through the power of voice. And as Google has some of the best voice products in the world, we believe combining forces with the Google Voice team will let us innovate in new and unexplored areas.”
The company has been around for a while, but it hasn’t been on our radar since 2006, when it released aMySpace widget for bands that let fans click to leave musicians a voice message.
According to the SayNow website, the company started out to create “voice-based experiences that are fun and social” — a goal similar to those of many current startups like Fotobabble and Twaud.io. However, SayNow says that the development didn’t stop with social audio apps. “Along the way, we reinvented the way phone calls are made today.”
That last statement puts SayNow in direct competition with Google Voice, making the company a prime target for acquisition.
The Palo Alto-based startup boasts 15 million users — including celebs like Soulja Boy and NFL coach Mike Ditka — and just like Google Voice, its platform can be used for voice messaging, user-to-user conversations, and group calls. SayNow also integrates its calling services with social and mobile platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Android and iPhone. The company has released APIs and claims a robust ecosystem of third-party apps.
There’s no word yet on whether SayNow will be shuttered or whether product development will continue, but we can’t imagine the former Google Voice competitor will be operating as an independent product for very long following the acquisition.
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