Update: BumpTop now confirms it was acquired by Google, terms were not disclosed. The company raised $1.65 million in seed funding from Canadian angels and VCs, and the purchase price is rumored to be between $25 million and $35 million.
Rumors are swirling that 3D desktop interface Canadian startup BumpTop has been acquired by Google. We started getting tips yesterday pointing to a now-deleted Tweet from a Canadian VC saying Google had acquired them. When I called CEO Anand Agarawala on Friday to ask if BumpTop was acquired, he responded, “Not that I know of.” But today, there is a notice on BumpTop’s homepage saying that it will discontinue its current products and has a big announcement coming:
Today, we have a big announcement to make: we’re going to be taking BumpTop in an exciting new direction, which means that BumpTop (for both Windows and Mac) will no longer be available for sale. Additionally, no updates to the products are planned.
Also, there is now a post by Canadian venture debt firm Wellington Financial speculating that Google did indeed buy them. When I reached out again to Agarawala today, asking whether or not Google acquired his company, his response changed from his previous outright denial to, “Sorry man, no comment.” Something is definitely up.
BumpTop has a 3D desktop interface, and recently added multi-touch capabilities (see video demo below). It would look great on a future Android or Chrome OS tablet, just sayin’. I’ve reached out to Google for confirmation. Update 2: Google also confirms.