Social media operator Facebook paid an undisclosed amount to acquire Packagd, a US-based video commerce app developer backed by internet technology group Alphabet, earlier this year, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Founded in 2016, Packagd had created an app called Unboxed, which looked to leverage the online trend of unboxing videos to sell products to consumers who could interact with the video’s hosts in real time. It announced in September this year it was ceasing operations.
The deal took place the same month, according to a person familiar with the plans, and most of Packagd’s five-person team joined Facebook to work on a live shopping tool that will form part of the company’s Marketplace e-commerce offering.
Packagd raised $6m in a mid-2017 series A round co-led by Alphabet subsidiary GV and venture capital firm Forerunner Ventures. It came after a $1.5m seed round led by VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which had incubated the company.
