eBay has acquired StumbleUpon for $75 million. StumbleUpon is described as giving people a new way to discover relevant and entertaining content based on personal preferences and community recommendations and is an early-stage company with approximately 2.3 million users. By allowing its community to rate the content, StumbleUpon gets smarter as it is used and provides an increasing level of relevance over time.
According to eBay North America President Bill Cobb's announcement on the eBay Announcement Board, StumbleUpon will run as a separate business unit within eBay Inc. "Although there are no definite plans to share at this time, as the site evolves, we'll be exploring the possibilities for synergies between StumbleUpon and eBay marketplaces, Skype, and PayPal."
eBay Senior Director Michael Buhr said, "StumbleUpon is a great fit within our goal of pioneering new communities based on commerce and sustained by trust. StumbleUpon's downloadable toolbar provides an engaging and unique experience to its users, but it is the similarities in our approaches to the concept of community that make it such a compelling addition to eBay."
Buhr will serve as general manager of StumbleUpon effective immediately. StumbleUpon's current founders and management team will remain in their respective positions and will work with Buhr to enhance the user experience, evolve its unique product and grow the community.
http://www.stumbleupon.com
