E-commerce company Shopify has doubled its efforts in pursuing mobile product ambitions. It has acquired digital photo studio, Tiny Hearts. The studio released quite a number of mobile apps, games and bots over the past several years including a famous consumer-facing apps like Next Keyboard, InstaMatch, Quick Fit and Wake Alarm.
Before the deal, the team also worked with Shopify and other giant clients, who include Plantronics, Philips, Wealthsimple, Spinmaster-owned Sago Mini, Meridian Credit Union, the City of Toronto and more.
According to Tiny Hearts' briefing, the studio's six-person product team including the founder and CEO Robleh Jama, who will join Shopify and work from the e-commerce Toronto office.
Tech crunch reported that at Shopify, Tiny Hearts assist to design two of the company's latest apps - Shopkey and Frenzy. At the beginning of the year, the former introduced a third-party keyboard application for iOS that permits online merchants to easily access own product catalog for answering to customer inquiries over SMS, iMessage or any other mobile messaging app, like Whatsapp or Messenger.
Techvibes reported that the Ottawa-based e-commerce giant took over the Toronto-based digital product studio for an undisclosed sum.
"Tiny Hearts has a track record of shipping apps that people love and we're excited to have them join our team," Satish Kanwar, Director of Product at Shopify says.
Tiny Heart which has designed various apps, games, and bots since its commencement seven years ago will now join Shopify's Toronto office.
"The team is not only bringing strong mobile talent to Shopify, but also their leadership and experience," Director says.
"They will help us unlock mobile as the best platform for growing Shopify."
Kanwar entered Shopify through the company's acquisition of Jet Cooper with which Tiny Hearts had collaborated years ago.
"We've been impressed by Shopify's growth and commitment to building the best commerce platform in the world," Robleh Jama, Founder and CEO at Tiny Hearts says.
The apps of Tiny Hearts' were downloaded nearly six million times. The startup had been in search of a possible exit and turned down offers from other companies waiting for an ideal fit.