Facebook takes over .gif platform Giphy

Facebook buys the poison platform Giphy for a suspected amount of 400 million dollars. Facebook says that Giphy will continue to exist independently, but that the service will also be further integrated into Instagram.

Little information is known about the deal yet. Multiple sources report to Axios that the acquisition would cost $400 million. That is converted about 369 million euros. It is not known which part of this consists of cash or shares, for example.

Facebook confirms the acquisition, although the company itself does not provide many details. “We plan to further integrate the GIF library into Instagram and our other apps so people can find the right way to express themselves,” the company wrote.

According to Facebook, there will be no changes to how Giphy works. “Users can still upload GIFs, and developers will continue to have the same access to Giphy’s API,” Facebook said. Also, Giphy continues to keep its gif library. The company wants to “further invest in Giphy’s technology and API partners.” Facebook wants to integrate Giphy into Instagram to make gifs and stickers more easily available in Stories and private messages.

Giphy is a service where users can upload and share gifs. The service also has a popular API that is integrated into several services, including Facebook services Instagram and WhatsApp. According to Facebook, half of Giphy’s traffic comes from Facebook services. Half of that comes from Instagram.