Facebook has bought Bangalore-based mobile technology company Little Eye Labs – the US company's first acquisition in India – in a deal that highlights the growing interest among global technology groups in the country's start-up scene.
Little Eye develops software used to improve the performance of applications running on Google's Android mobile phone operating system, which is an ever-growing priority for Facebook's business.
(Read more: India's hottest start-up stuns nation)
Diptendu Dutta | AFP/Getty Images
Facebook did not disclose the size of the deal with Little Eye, which has fewer than 10 employees, although industry estimates suggested the price was no more than $15m.
The acquisition comes as Facebook users increasingly access the US social media site from a mobile application, rather than a website visited from computer desktops.
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In the past quarter, mobile advertisements contributed about half of the group's total advertising revenue for the first time.
Jayant Sinha, a Mumbai-based venture capitalist who sits on the boards of several technology companies, said the deal was likely to be the first in a number of comparable acquisitions, as companies such as Facebook, Twitter andGoogle sought further to develop their mobile presence.
