Locket, a US-based lockscreen app developer backed by media company Turner Broadcasting, was acquired yesterday by online shopping platform Wish for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2013, Locket has developed two Android smartphone apps for smartphone lockscreens. One of them, also named Locket, offers a personalised news stream, while a second, dubbed ScreenPop, is an instant messaging service.
Locket raised $3.2m in a February 2015 series A round backed by Turner, as well as Fierce Capital, Great Oaks and several angel investors. Great Oaks had earlier supplied $650,000 in seed funding to Locket in 2013 before an investment by model and entrepreneur Tyra Banks, according to VentureBeat.
Yunha Kim, founder and chief executive of Locket, is set to join Wish as its head of growth. The acquisition is the first to be disclosed by Wish.
Wish raised $500m in a series D round led by DST Global in June 2015 that valued it at $3bn, and its investors also include Legend Capital, the corporate venturing arm of conglomerate Legend Holdings.
Peter Szulczewski, chief executive of Wish, said: “Our mission and Locket’s missions are highly aligned. We hope to benefit from Locket’s expertise in engaging users with intelligent recommendations and creating a beautiful, native mobile experience.”