Amazon Reportedly Acquires Startup Gopago Amidst "Ambitious" Project

A couple of Italian newspapers are reporting that Amazon acquired a mobile payment startup, Gopago, something reportedly taking place amidst work on an "ambitious project". What this project is wasn't detailed, but it reportedly is the basis for Amazon's interest in Gopago — namely, in the startup's technology. Amazon and Gopago haven't announced the business move, but it seems founder Vincenzo Di Nicola has spoken with Italian newspaper Repubblica.

Gopago, you may have guessed, was founded by Italian co-founders, of which di Nicola served as the CTO and the other founder, Leo Rocco, served as CEO. The company is based in Silicon Valley, however, and not much is known about its business matters, particularly the funding it managed to score before Amazon acquired it — assuming the reports are correct.

No details about the reported acquisition have been revealed, either, such as what Amazon paid for the company. It was said that Google showed interest in the startup in addition to Amazon, though why is left up to speculation. Whether the startup's team will end up working at Amazon wasn't stated, but it was made known that di Nicola, who is a recent US citizen and apparently in need of some much-earned R&R, won't be joining the Internet retailer.

The co-founder alluded to an "ambitious" project on Amazon's part, which is reportedly most interested in Gopago's technology. The startup offers both Android and iOS mobile payment apps that work with retailers to enable pre-payments for goods, whether it is dinner or an item of some sorts. The app stores receipts, which is pretty handy, and offers things like a user profile. The big question is what Amazon could be working on that gives it interest in such technology, but speculation is on hold until the company confirms whether the deal took place.

SOURCE: TechCrunch