Snapchat parent buys Seattle tech firm Placed

Seattle – Snapchat parent Snap is broadening its reach in Seattle by buying local tech company Placed.

The Los Angeles-based social media company will operate Placed as an independent business, Snap said. Placed has more than 100 employees who will stay in their Seattle, New York and Los Angeles offices.

Placed was founded in 2011 and tracks in-person consumer habits, including store visits and customer locations, so advertisers can see how well specific ads pay off.

Snap has been expanding its office space in Seattle in recent months and now has room for more than 300 employees in its engineering office in the former Redfin space in Belltown.

Snap plans to use Placed’s expertise to improve the way it tracks users’ locations and works with advertisers. Snapchat lets users send pictures and videos that disappear from the recipients’ phones after a set amount of time.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Placed, formerly known as Sewichi, has raised more than $13 million from investors, including Madrona Venture Group and Two Sigma Ventures.