eBay Buys Price Forecasting Firm Decide.com

In the US, online auction giant eBay has acquired price forecasting and shopping research company Decide.com for an undisclosed sum.

Decide's team of data scientists apply patent-pending machine learning and text mining algorithms to help consumers find the highest rated products and the best times to buy. Since its launch three years ago, the firm has raised $17m in venture capital from angel investors such as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, via Vulcan Capital, and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, at Maveron.

Apart from co-founder and CTO Oren Etzioni, all 26 of the firm's employees will join eBay's new Bellevue, WA-based office. They will be led by existing Decide.com CEO Mike Fridgen (pictured) who becomes eBay's General Manager, Seller Insights. At the end of this month, Decide.com will cease trading, and its staff will focus on developing analytics tools for eBay sellers.

Fridgen said in a company blog: 'Over the past year, we began experimenting with eBay and discovered an exciting opportunity to apply our team's strength in data and predictive analytics to help over 25 million eBay sellers make smarter decisions and be more successful. We will continue to bring you the same innovative products and thinking as part of the eBay family.'

Web sites: www.ebay.com and www.decide.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.