// startup autopsy

Viewdle

Google saw its face — and bought it.

acquisition gone wrongAcqui-hire

Fatal mistake: Viewdle's independent growth stalled as its technology attracted acquirer interest faster than it could build a standalone business.

Founded	2006
Closed	2012
Country	USA
Sector	Developer tools

50%

Key Events Timeline

2006-01

FOUNDING

Viewdle founded to develop facial recognition and computer vision technology for mobile platforms.

2010-08

FUNDING

Raised $12M in funding to expand its facial and gesture recognition technology for mobile devices.

2011-05

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Launched commercial facial recognition SDK for Android devices, attracting significant industry attention.

2012-09

SHUTDOWN

Google acquired Viewdle in an acqui-hire deal, absorbing its computer vision IP and engineering team into Android development.

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Viewdle, a Ukrainian facial recognition startup founded in 2006 and later headquartered in Silicon Valley, was acquired by Google's Motorola Mobility division in October 2012 for an estimated $30-45 million acc...

ording to Bloomberg and TechCrunch reporting. The acquisition was motivated primarily by Viewdle's facial recognition and augmented reality patent portfolio rather than its commercial products, which

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€21.6M

Peak valuation

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Viewdle raised €12M before viewdle's independent growth stalled as its technology attracted acquirer interest faster than it could build a standalone business. ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

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