DC startup SocialRadar acquired Gridskippr, another local startup that helped perfect the geolocation function on SocialRadar's app. The small Gridskippr team, which has already moved into SocialRadar's office, made it so phones could pinpoint a person's exact whereabouts, rather than just the standard longitude and latitude--without burning battery life. The acquisition means the technology will be free as a software development kit so that other app developers can incorporate it into their own geolocation products, says SocialRadar founder Michael Chasen. SocialRadar will have a national roll-out of its app, which lets people know who from their social networks is nearby, in early 2015.
Michael says when the company first started work on its app over a year ago, it underestimated the standard technology capabilities for geolocation built into phones. Gridskippr launched its company around the same time and ended up helping build the SocialRadar app. The technology can pinpoint if a person is inside a Starbucks or a Shake Shack rather than just general quadrants. (If you're good at getting friends to buy you coffee when you "bump into them" at Starbucks, this app is a gem for you.) The SocialRadar app has been in beta in DC, NYC and Philly.
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