Facebook has acquired content generation and aggregation startup Chai Labs for a reported $10 million.
Chai Labs makes a content management system which it licenses to online publishers in sectors such as travel, entertainment and shopping.
The content management system uses an algorithm to create relevant and interesting content for the publishers. Chai provides technology that helps its customers understand what users are searching for and then finds and ranks relevant content that is likely to get picked up in a search. This content can then be used by publishers to increase their relevance for popular search terms.
The application of this technology within Facebook has clear advantages for companies who want to create or maintain consistently interesting and relevant content that will rank highly on searches. Automatic generation of this kind of SEO-aware content could become indispensable to brands and businesses looking to compete in the world of social media.
Facebook, in turn, improves its in-house search expertise and gains sentiment analysis technology that could have any number of uses in a social context.
Gokul Rajaram, founder of Chai Labs is also a significant hire for Facebook. Mr Rajaram was formerly the product manager and launch engineer for Google AdSense, and is the latest in a growing number of former Google employees who now works for the social network.
