XO Group has acquired Veri, a startup that allows users to automatically share photos of weddings and other important events.
XO Group’s flagship property is The Knot, which has been used by 25 million couples to plan their weddings. So Veri seems like a pretty natural fit — the digital media company says it paid $3.5 million in cash for the startup.
Both CEO Michael Steib and Executive Vice President of Product Brent Tworetzky praised the Veri app, with Tworetzky describing it as “a magical product … for both couples and the guests.”
Steib said the acquisition allows The Knot to reach the “last mile” of wedding planning, so that it’s not just helping couples get ready for the ceremony but also preserving their memories at the event itself.
“We can take this terrific app and make it available to a much broader audience,” he said.
Veri doesn’t replace the pictures taken by a professional wedding photographer, but using it can mean that the couple and their guests all get access to a much wider array of photos without having to do much extra. Once users have downloaded the app and given it permission, Veri will automatically share the photos and videos taken by their smartphone cameras.
In fact, according to XO Group’s internal research, couples using Veri receive between 800 and 1,000 photos of their wedding, while a wedding hashtag on Instagram only gets 22.
Veri will “live by itself in the short term,” Tworetzky said — but over time, there are plans to integrate it with XO Group properties, particularly The Knot. Co-founders Lee Hoffman and Angela Kim, as well as engineers and designers from their team, have joined XO Group and are working out of its New York City office.