Sketchbook Ink Creator Buys Socialcam For $60 Million
July 17, 2012
Autodesk Inc., the makers of popular 3-D drafting tools, has purchased Facebook favorite Socialcam for $60 million. This news, which was first announced on the Autodesk website, suggests the business-oriented company is looking to move even closer to the consumer market.
First launched for iOS and the Web in March 2011, Socialcam offers an easy way to capture, share, and view videos on your iPhone. To date, the free app has been downloaded 16 million times.
It was originally created by the folks at Justin.tv.
According to a posting on the Socialcam blog:
If you haven't heard of Autodesk, that's probably because the company is best known for its professional tools for design and visualization. But their mission is to help everybody imagine, design and create a better world.For their part, Autodesk Vice President, Consumer Group Samir Hanna says the following:
We are excited to have Socialcam join our growing portfolio of applications, services and communities for digital art, personal design and fabrication, home design and entertainment.Founded in 1982, the Mill Valley, California-based Autodesk is known for their flagship AutoCad products for PC and Mac. In recent years, however, they have dedicated many of their resources to create iOS apps for consumers and professionals alike. To date, there are 21 Autodesk apps available in the App Store. These include the popular Sketchbook Ink and Pixlr-o-matic PLUS. The Autodesk-Socialcam deal is expected to close soon.
