Google Buys Visual Search Engine Like.com

Google confirmed Aug. 20 it has acquired Like.com, whose visual search engine helps people match clothes and other apparel online and purchase them from retailers.

Like.com CEO and founder Munjal Shah announced the deal on the Like.com home page Aug. 20.

Search engines such as Google and Microsoft’s Bing and e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com do a fine job surfacing products such as books, electronics and DVDs, commonly bought online based on reviews and ratings.

Like.com said it employs computer vision and machine learning technology to peddle “soft goods” or those that are purchased based on a consumer’s personal style and “whether the item matches an outfit to current trends and opinions of the fashion elite.”

“With that in mind, we’ve developed technology that lets us understand visually what terms like ‘red high-heeled pumps’ and ‘floral patterned sleeveless dress’ mean and created algorithms to understand whether those pumps complement or clash with that dress.”

Goggles, whose creator Hartmut Neven sold his company Neven Vision to Google in 2006, lets users search for information about objects and locations by snapping pictures with their smartphone camera.

Google’s venture capital arm also invested in Pixazza, which helps Web users purchase products they see in photos on Websites.

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