Google has acquired Nik Software, the German developer behind popular photo app Snapseed.
While Nik Software is responsible for a number of apps for photographers, the offering that sealed the deal is Snapseed, the mobile photo-editing and -sharing app that was named the iPad App of the Year in 2011.
The mobile application uses a multi-touch photo-editing interface, and allows users to apply various professional effects to photographs. Nik Software also sells Snapseed for Mac and Windows, and says an Android app is in the works.
Nik Software says: "Snapseed was born out of one simple idea: What if we could take the digital innovations pioneered for photography professionals and bring them to everyone - all the millions of people around the world snapping photos with their phones and digital cameras?"
Google's senior VP of social, Vic Gundotra, made the announcement of the acquisition in a post on Google+. Gundotra says: "We want to help our users create photos they absolutely love, and in our experience, Nik does this better than anyone."
It is widely expected that Google is looking to integrate some of the Snapseed technology into its social platform, much in the same way Facebook is seeking to better integrate Instagram functionality into its photo-sharing.
Facebook recently closed the deal on its acquisition of Instagram. When the acquisition was first announced in April, it was widely seen as a move by Facebook to consolidate its position in the photo-sharing space.
Snapseed has about nine million users, but lacks the social networking aspect and sense of community that is already baked into Instagram. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed that Instagram now has 100 million active users.
Should the Snapseed features be added to Google+, it will mean the search giant's social platform can match and exceed Facebook and Instagram's photo-editing capabilities. However, Google has yet to reveal any details regarding how it plans to integrate the service, and also hasn't made any statements regarding the future of Nik Software products.
Adding to speculation that Snapseed will be integrated with Google+, in the same post in which he announced the acquisition, Gundotra said this week the social platform reached the 400 million registered users mark, with 100 million monthly active users.
"It was only a year ago that we opened public sign-up, and we couldn't have imagined that so many people would join in just 12 months. While Google+ is all about creating a better experience across Google, it's also a destination," says Gundotra.
In an official blog post, Nik Software said: "For nearly 17 years, we've been guided by our motto, 'photography first', as we worked to build world-class digital image-editing tools. We've always aspired to share our passion for photography with everyone, and with Google's support we hope to be able to help many millions more people create awesome pictures."
The Verge reports that according to sources, the team from Nik Software that works specifically on the Snapseed product will move to Google's headquarters and will work directly on Google+.
The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Share