Yahoo acquires mobile apps analysis startup Flurry

Yahoo continues to seek a place in the fast evolving IT environment with the purchase of a startup specialising in analysing and making money from mobile applications, for an undisclosed sum.

According to an online post by Flurry chief executive Simon Khalaf, Yahoo was committed to being a part of consumers' daily life on mobiles.

"More importantly, Yahoo knows that it can't do this alone."

The take-over would provide Flurry, founded in2005, resources for ramping up platforms for developers to build applications, target users, and explore ways to make money, the company said in a release.

The Sunnyvale, California-based internet pioneer saw over 450 monthly active users reaching out to it using mobile devices in the second quarter of this year.

"Yahoo is on a mission to re-imagine users' daily habits, and mobile is at the center of everything we do. Our agreement to acquire Flurry is a meaningful step for the company and reinforces Yahoo's commitment to building and supporting useful, inspiring and beautiful mobile applications and monetization solutions," Yahoo said in a statement.

The deal will help boost Yahoo's advertising revenue from smartphones as it analysed data from smartphone users to optimise the mobile experience for developers, marketers and consumers.

With the deal, developers would be better able to understand their audiences and to optimise and personalise their apps by connecting brands and agencies to consumers on devices through targeted advertising. This would accelerate revenue growth for thousands of developers and publishers across the mobile ecosystem.

According to San Francisco-based Flurry, its analytics product is being used by 170,000 developers, and saw app activity from 1.4 billion devices worldwide monthly. It worked with mobile developers across 150 countries.

Flurry said it had been delivering the platform and insights to help developers optimise their apps since 2008 for users to benefit from more personalised app experiences.

Analytics are critical for all mobile developers to understand and optimise their applications and Yahoo and Flurry were reinvesting in developers and continuing to build great analytics products, according to commentators.