US social media giant Facebook has acquired Israeli AI bot startup Servicefriend, "TechCrunch" reports. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the acquisition to "TechCrunch, saying, “We acquire smaller tech companies from time to time. We don’t always discuss our plans", Trend with reference to Globes reports.
No financial details about the acquisition were disclosed and according to Startup Central, the company has yet to raise any funds.
TechCrunch speculates that Servicefriend will build a network of bots for the customer service layer of its Calibra digital wallet. Calibra is part of the range of financial services that will enable users to pay with and receive Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency.
Tel Aviv based Servicefriend was founded by CMO Ido Arad and CEO Shahar Ben Ami, and "TechCrunch" notes that according to their LinkedIn profiles, they both work for Facebook.