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U.S. company buys Ukrainian-developed mobile startup for 150 mln USD: media

Xinhua, September 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S.-based developer of mobile applications Snapchat has finalized the deal to buy a Ukrainian-developed mobile startup Looksery, which features a real time face-changing technology, Ukrainian media reported Wednesday.

A Kiev-based online tech journal Ain.ua said that Snapchat purchased the startup for 150 million U.S. dollars, which is the largest tech acquisition in Ukraine's history.

Neither Snapchat nor the team of Looksery developers have commented on the deal.

Looksery is a mobile application that allows users to change their appearance in real time during video chats using special filter tools, which could make the face more attractive, older or younger.

The technology was launched in 2013 by a team of developers from Ukraine's southern city of Odessa and has since reached around 10 million downloads on different mobile platforms. Enditem