Who are Comixology?
It was founded in year 2007, with a mission to spread the love of comics and graphic novel in all forms by David Steinberger, co-founder and CEO of comiXology. It offers a broad library of digital contents from over 75 of the top publisher and top independent creators. It uses a reading technology known as ComiXology Guided View™ which has transform the comic book medium into a cinematic experience. This has helped the company to become top ten grossing iPad app from 2011 to 2012 and then top grossing non-game iPad app from 2012 to 2013. Comixology is based in New York City, with its offices in Paris and Los Angeles.
About Amazon:
Amazon.com a fortune 500 company, which went live on the world wide web in year 1995 is one of the biggest online store in the world, with the biggest selection base. With a mission to be customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. It strives to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. it offer various products like Books, Movies, Music Games, Digital Downloads and etc. Amazon offers other services like Amazon Web Services, which provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services. This service is based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform. It also offers a service known as Amazon Fire TV, which is a tiny box that plugs into your HDTV for easy and instant access to Netflix, Prime Instant Video and much more. Amazon major invention that revolutionized reading was Kindle Paperwhite. It is the world’s best-selling and most advanced e-reader. It features new display technology with higher contrast, next generation built-in light, faster processor, latest touch technology, and exclusive new features designed from the ground up for readers.
Why Amazon acquired Comixology?
As per Amazon Vice President of Content Acquisition and Independent Publishing David Naggar, Amazon and Comixology share the passion of re-inventing the digital reading world and Amazon has long admired the passion comiXology brings to changing the way we buy and read comics and graphic novels.
Comixology offers upwards of 50,000 comics for sale. Last year, 2013, the company launched a self-publishing platform for comics. This platform allows comic creators to upload and sell their own work. This is another strategy which fits hand-in-hand with Amazon’s own self-publishing efforts for books.
What happens next?
In 2013, comiXology iOS app was one of the top performing on App Store’s, by gross sales. Amazon will keep ComiXology iOS app in place for the future, but would surely like to integrate this technology with its Kindle fire lineup. As per CEO David Steinberger, ComiXology platform will retain its own identity as an Amazon subsidiary and will continue to operate out of its original headquarters in New York.
Terms of this acquisition were not disclosed. Subject to various closing conditions, this acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.
