• TechCrunch, Monday, August 16, 2010 5:13 PM

Google is very close to acquiring Like.com for more than $100 million, multiple sources tell TechCrunch. "What we can't quite figure out is why Google is buying Like.com," writes TechCrunch's Michael Arrington. "It doesn't fit neatly into mobile or their new social strategy like so many of their recent acquisitions. Like.com does have real visual search technology though.

Perhaps Google, which has experimented with visual search, likes what it sees." In late 2005 Google was reportedly close to acquiring a company called Riya, a maker of image facial recognition and tagging technology. Then, last year, Riya shifted its focused to ecommerce, rebranded as Like.com, and began using its core technology to let people search visually by seeing images that are similar to other images. Since 2006, the company raised nearly $50 million in venture capital since 2006, and has revenue in the $50 million a year range, according to TechCrunch. Investors include Blue Run Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Bay Partners, Leapfrog Ventures, and Menlo Ventures.

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