alarm:clock

News & Updates - Friday, March 16, 2007

Breaking News: Google Buys Sweden's Gapminder For Its Trendalyzer Software

Google announced on a slow news Friday that is has bought Sweden-based statistics display software company Gapminder. The Gapminder site has been taken down and moved to Google servers. Google's Marissa Meyer explains: "Trendalyzer generates moving graphics and other novel effects in the display of facts, figures, and statistics in presentations. In its nimble hands, Trendalyzer views development data—such as regional income distribution or trends in global health."

There are no details on the amount of the purchase, but it would appear to be on the small side.

According to a report from Wired.com, Gapminder was built by Hans Rosling, a professor of international health at Sweden's Karolinska Institute. Rosling made a splash at last year's TED conference and was invited back to this year's event, where we suspect the deal was completed. Once source says that the project was initially funded by the UN.

Hans Rosling - the Newest Googler - explains his data maps

View - Gapminder Trendalyzer
Read - Google announcement on their blog