It’s no secret eBay is obsessed with mobile, and its PayPal payments unit just picked up another team of mobile developers – StackMob developed a platform that lets developers and companies easily create and manage mobile applications.
According to StackMob’s website, it has been fundamentally changing the way developers build mobile applications. In announcing the news on the company’s blog, PayPal Chief Technology Officer James Barrese said, “We are thrilled to have the StackMob team put those same skills and expertise toward enhancing PayPal’s technology stack.” And, he said, “we’ll move even faster in creating, testing and deploying products that aim to transform payments for customers around the world.” PayPal did not disclose terms of the deal.
StackMob Co-Founder & CEO Ty Amell said the reason he sold the 4-year old startup that had VC backing to PayPal was because monetization and payments remained a constant challenge.
“By joining the PayPal team, we endeavor to maintain our focus on developers through PayPal and extend innovative mobile technologies that will let you access the rich capabilities of the PayPal global network. We believe our work at PayPal will make it easier for you to create seamless payment solutions that span online, mobile, and in-store experiences.”
It isn’t clear whether PayPal will support current StackMob clients – Amell wrote, “We will be communicating with you very soon regarding the future of the StackMob platform. It has been a great four years and I’m truly grateful for all the support you have shown StackMob.”
PayPal, which processed $4 billion in mobile payments in 2011 and nearly $14 billion in 2012, projects it will process $20 billion in mobile payments in 2013.
In September, PayPal acquired Braintree, which enables web and mobile payments and also offers a mobile application called Venmo that gives people an easy way to pay each other using their mobile devices and social networks. And in 2011, PayPal acquired WHERE, a Boston-based startup “focused on leveraging location technology and data in mobile to enhance relevancy in advertising” and renamed it the PayPal Media Network.
