Social commerce network Lockerz has acquired photo sharing app Plixi (which was formerly known as TweetPhoto), we’ve learned exclusively. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but we hear that the acquisition price was between $10 million and $15 million.
UPDATE: While Business Insider claims that the deal was for less than $5 million, we have two separate sources confirming our range, and we stand by our report.
Plixi is an enormously popular social photo sharing application that serves more than 1 billion photos monthly. The startup rebranded from “Tweetphoto” last year, as the photo sharing network expanded beyond Twitter to other platforms like Facebook and MySpace and added location-based check-in features. While Plixi offers a standalone web and iPhone app, more than 300 developers have integrated Plixi’s photo sharing technology, including Seesmic, TweetDeck and others and the startup handles more than 67 million API requests daily.
Lockerz, which has raised $30 million from Kleiner Perkins newly launched sFund, revolves around the idea that influencers within a social network can become brand and content advocates and affect the behavior of their friends.
Lockerz, which has nearly 18 million members worldwide, is primarily targeted towards men and women ages 13 to 30, attempting to build a community of trendsetters and tastemakers who love to shop, play and connect on the Web. Users can earn points and discounts on brands by sharing content on the site. Founded by Kathy Savitt, a former Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters exec; Lockerz eventually wants to be the go-to commerce homepage for teens and young adults.
Savitt tells the experience will be the same for anyone who previously used Plixi, except that the services’s name will be changed. Lockerz will be changing Plixi’s name to Lockerz Photos. While developers will still be able to use Lockerz Photos in the same way they did with Plixi, the social commerce network will use Plixi’s platform to add a photo sharing experience to the platform. Lockerz members will be able to upload, share with friends, comment on, and rate their photos on Lockerz.com.
Over time, Lockerz and Plixi plan to developing new media sharing features to engage customers, such as the ability for Lockerz members to share their activities, photos and videos
on other social networks. The newly combined company will also focus on increasing and
enhancing celebrity content.
For Plixi, being acquired by a growing social network makes sense. It has been difficult to compete with Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter, which all offer photo sharing within their networks. And while it’s still unclear if there’s room in the social network space for a contender like Lockerz, the company’s targeted demographic and social commerce focus could prove to be a solid bet.
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