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Apple Buys Shazam In $400 Million Acquisition

The latest tech company to be purchased by the world-renowned corporation is music recognition service Shazam.

Kevin Tucker

December 12, 2017 4:10 PM

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It's not exactly uncommon for tech corporations to buy out competitors in order to use the competition's technology for their own devices. Such is the case with Apple, who recently purchased popular music recognition service Shazam, in a $400 million acquisition that will likely serve to expand the capabilities of voice assistant Siri.

As revealed by TechCrunch, the latest acquisition counts among one of the largest made by Apple, who previously spent the same amount of money to buy out NeXT and reclaim former CEO Steve Jobs back in 1996.

Unfortunately for shareholders, the buyout of Shazam comes in at a considerably lower price than the company was valued just two years ago, as the company was valued at $1 billion during a funding round in 2015.

Still, music recognition is a popular feature for many voice-activated assistants, with other freebie apps like Soundhound performing the same sort of service for mobile users who don't rely too much on Google, Amazon, or Apple's own voice-activated functions.

It's not exactly clear what Apple plans on doing with its acquisition of Shazam — it may be that an expansion to Siri is in mind, or that Apple might build functions based on the Shazam infrastructure for use with the company's upcoming smart speaker, the Apple HomePod. Speaking in a statement, however, an Apple spokesperson did state that the two companies are a "natural fit" and that the teams already have specific plans in mind.

"We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple," the Apple spokesperson said. "Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store."

Kevin Tucker

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.