Snap Picks Up Pixel8earth to Grow Its Map Feature

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

Snap screen

Snap Inc. has acquired Pixel8earth as it pushes to grow and monetize the Map feature on its flagship app, Snapchat.

Based in Boulder, Colorado, Pixel8earth uses crowdsourced data to develop 3D maps.


The acquisition was initially disclosed with few details in Snap's first-quarter filing to the SEC, below the more detailed disclosure of its $124.4 million acquisition of Fit Analytics. Snap said it paid $7.6 million for an unnamed company.

On Monday Snap confirmed that the unnamed company was Pixel8earth.

Snap executives have called the Snap Map a "multibillion-dollar opportunity," frequently noting that over 250 million users engage with the feature every month. The company has continuously pointed to ongoing efforts to add "utility" to the feature, particularly regarding the value it can bring to small businesses searching for local customers.

In its SEC filing, Snap said the acquisition was meant "to enhance our existing platform, technology, and workforce." Based on Pixel8earth's former co-founders' LinkedIn profiles, it appears they have been fully absorbed by Snap. Former CEO Sean Gorman lists his current role as a Boulder, CO-based "Software Engineering Manager" at Snap, while his former co-founder and CTO Pramukta Kumar lists his role as an Austin-based "Computer Vision Engineer" at Snap.

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Meet SVT Fleet Solutions: Revolutionizing Fleet Management for a Zero Emission Future

David Shultz

David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.

Meet SVT Fleet Solutions: Revolutionizing Fleet Management for a Zero Emission Future
Evan Xie

Less than a month ago, the California Air Resources Board announced new regulations that aim to phase out fossil fuels in medium and heavy duty trucks by 2045. Known as Advanced Clean Fleets, the rule caused major concerns across the transportation industry and has sent many fleet owners and operators scrambling for solutions that will help their business comply with the ambitious timelines.

A new Los Angeles-based company, SVT Fleet Solutions, is hoping to capitalize on the coming wave of change by providing a one-stop-shop for fleet management that will enable owners to build and execute a plan to transition off of diesel and into zero emission technologies like batteries and hydrogen. “There really has not been any new fleet management companies in this space in over 10 years,” says Don Kelley, president of SVT. “I'm just thrilled that somehow– in some form or fashion–transportation is sexy again.”

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Why Cirque du Soleil Tapped LA Game Maker Gamefam for its First Virtual World

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Why Cirque du Soleil Tapped LA Game Maker Gamefam for its First Virtual World
Photo: Gamefam/Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group

After almost 40 years since its founding, Canadian entertainment powerhouse Cirque du Soleil is embracing the metaverse.

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