The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has reportedly agreed to acquire the Israel-based start-up Visualead, which specializes in technology that generates personalized quick response (QR) codes.
Sources close to the deal told the Israeli financial news outlet Calcalist that the acquisition is worth tens of millions of dollars.
Founded in 2012, the Herzliya-based company’s software creates unique QR codes that can be scanned with smartphones. Visualead’s codes incorporate the use of colors in their designs, differing from the industry’s standard black-and-white codes.
Alibaba has not confirmed the deal, which would be its first acquisition of an Israeli company.
The reported deal follows an announcement by Alibaba in October that it will open a research and development (R&D) center in Israel as part of the company’s $15 billion plan to unveil a series of R&D centers worldwide.
With the launch of its new Israeli R&D center, Alibaba joins e-commerce giants such as Amazon and eBay as well as more than 300 international companies that already maintain facilities in the Jewish state.
(JNS.org)
{Matzav.com}
