Yahoo! Acquires URL-Shortening Startup Bread

Bread, a startup that launched back in 2011 offering URL-shortening with a side order of monetization, has announced an acquisition by Yahoo. Such a move comes at a time when the startup was reportedly low on funds and actively pursuing a buyout from a bigger company, and brings with it a 30-day deadline to transition away from the company's shortened links.

The announcement was made today on the company's website, where Bread's CEO Alan Chan briefly detailed the business move and Yahoo's acquisition, as well as what it means for the service's users. As of today, both Bread Social and Bread Oven have been pulled, something that is part of the overall transition over to Yahoo.

Those who used the company's links won't be so quickly jarred, however, with all links staying functional until November 11, giving users 30 days to migrate to a different service. After that deadline, any Bread links still out there will become non-functional, something that could prove troubling depending on how and where the links are implemented.

Said Chan: "When we launched Bread in 2011, our goal was to help social media influencers and publishers better monetize their online content. We built the first digital platform that delivered beautiful and engaging advertising across social media, desktop, and mobile devices. In Yahoo, we found a company that shares our vision. We are thrilled to join Yahoo's advertising team in Sunnyvale where we will be working on developing next-generation solutions for social and mobile publishers and advertisers."

SOURCE: TechCrunch