Sunday, April 11, 2010

Twitter Buys Tweetie

To date Twitter, has been happy to allow others to tools built has started to take control. However, Twitter raised $100 million in September and now has a war chest with which to change that. Twitter has started by announcing that it has agreed to acquire Atebits, a start-up that makes the Tweet apps for Mac and iPhones and also that it ‘assisted’ RIM (Research in Motion) to build an “official” Twitter app for BlackBerrys.

When Twitter realized it needed its own search engine, it bought Summize, which made one. It also has bought Mixer Labs, which helps developers build location-based services now it looks like they want the apps and have bought Atebits. So will Twitter accommodate up to start-ups developers such as Tweetie, Twitterrific and UberTwitter , or acquire them, or do it themselves?

It cannot hire engineers quickly enough to support the explosive growth of the company, so buying other features is a way to grow quickly.

The acquisition is Twitter’s third. It previously acquired Summize.

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