Facebook Acquires Acrylic Software For Mac And iOS
The big blue social network has once again purchased a mobile developer group in Acrylic Software, this time opting to take the talent and leave the already developed apps behind. This group is a creator of both mobile and desktop applications, but you might know them best from the apps Wallet and Pulp. The minds behind these RSS and database apps will be working for Facebook from here on out while the apps themselves will no longer be updated.
The user data as well as the apps themselves will remain independent of Facebook while the developers that made them happen will no longer be touching them. The apps will remain in the app store but will not see any new versions in the future. Acrylic is a group made up of an undeniably small amount of employees – two – and will be moving out to San Francisco to be with Facebook rather than staying in their up until now home base of Vancouver.
Acrylic made an announcement on the situation earlier today:
I'm happy to announce today that we've packed up our small Vancouver studio and will be making the move to San Francisco in the coming weeks to join the design team at Facebook.
For the past four years, we've worked tirelessly on creating truly awesome products with a focus on innovation and great design, and I'm incredibly proud of the work we've been able to accomplish during that time. Our flagship apps, Wallet and Pulp, have been used and loved by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Building these products has been a fun and exciting ride, but the time has come to move on to newer and bigger challenges.
Facebook is an invaluable service that we all use daily, and a company I believe is one of the most innovative and important around today. After visiting late last year, I discovered that we shared many of the same core product design goals and principles, and it soon became obvious that it was a natural fit. Simply put, there's an opportunity at Facebook to have a big impact in many people's lives. More importantly, Facebook is full of extremely talented people who will be able to help realize its full potential in the years to come.
Our products and services have not been acquired by Facebook, and while there are no plans for further development on them, Wallet and Pulp will continue to remain available for download and purchase in their current form. We'll certainly be the first to let you know of any updates or changes here in the future.
A special thanks to all of our customers and supporters who have helped us grow and build the best products possible throughout the last four years. We wouldn't have been able to do it without you.
Dustin MacDonald
Acrylic Software
Stick around as more companies pick up Apple-focused development groups. Check out news from earlier today as well where Google picked up no less than Sparrow, one of the most popular iOS and Mac-based email apps and applications on the planet.