• Silicon Alley Insider, Wednesday, July 16, 2008 10:45 AM

After more than a week of rumors, Twitter, the microblogging sensation, has finally acquired Summize, the microblogging search engine. Silicon Alley Insider reports that the five-man firm sold for around $15 million in cash and stock. That's right, writer Peter Kafka says, stock: "A company that has no obvious business model but does have plenty of technology problems is now in the position to fund M&A with equity, thanks to a funding round that values the company at about $100 million."

It all sounds a bit bubbly, doesn't it? As Kafka warns, "Either this thing is going to implode very soon," or we're all "short-sighted bores who don't get the possibilities of technology." Or something. Meanwhile, Twitter, whose founder Evan Williams told TechCrunch that he's still not hung up about the company's lack of a business model, buying another firm with equity is definitely something.

However, Kafka points out that there may be a business model buried inside Summize. While Twitter users surely wouldn't stand for ads in their tweets, the general public has grown rather used to the sale of ads within searches. "Suddenly, Twitter has become a more interesting business," Kafka says. Or, rather, "a potential business, at least."

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