Google acquires 'video Street View' startup

Have a Quicksee

Google has acquired Israeli video startup Quicksee, in what appears to be an effort to enhance its Street View and Google Maps projects.

Quicksee's beta service encouraged users to upload videos of locations across the globe, and these can be browsed from an interface based on Google Maps. You might think of it as a kind of video Street View.

And so, another April Fool's joke is on the verge of not being a joke at all.

Quicksee founders announced the deal with a post to the company's website, saying they would be joining Google's Geo team. "Both Google and Quiksee share the same innovative vision, and while we can't share any future product plans, we look forward to the opportunity to contribute and do great things together in the future," they said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Google paid an estimated $10m.

This fall, Google told the world it would start acquiring again, and it has done so in spades. The company has shown a particular taste for "social startups," and in a way, Quicksee fits that bill as well. ®