Groupon scoops up Barcode Hero developer Kima Labs

Social commerce giant Groupon has acquired Kima Labs, the startup behind mobile barcode reader application Barcode Hero and mobile payment solution TapBuy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kima Labs confirmed the deal on the Barcode Hero website. The application, which enabled Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS device users to share product recommendations via barcode scanning, has already been shut down; consumers have until March 16 to download their data. Kima Labs co-founder Blake Scholl tells TechCrunch that TapBuy, which supplies daily deals and processes credit card transactions, will also be discontinued, although the timetable has not yet been announced.

Kima Labs is Groupon's second mobile-themed acquisition in the last week. The company also purchased Hyperpublic, which provides geo-location services optimized for integration into other applications. Financial terms are unknown. Hyperpublic will shut down its Places+ and Deals & Events API on March 2.

Groupon presents daily bargains from retailers and restaurants spanning across hundreds of international markets. The startup offers applications optimized for smartphone platforms including iOS, Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android, Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone. Groupon also has teamed with partners including Deutsche Telekom, location-based mobile social network foursquare and m-commerce solutions provider ShopSavvy to further expand its deals platform to smartphone users.

Groupon went public in November 2011, raising $700 million in its initial public offering for a valuation of $12.7 billion.

For more:
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