https://www.wired.com/story/buying-giphy-gives-facebook-new-window/

Facebook announced Friday it was acquiring Giphy, a leading service for making and sharing GIFs that will now be part of Instagram, a leading service for making and sharing photos. Even if you’ve never visited Giphy’s website, you’ve likely seen its footprint on social media, dating apps, maybe even in your workplace on Slack. Founded in 2013 as a search engine for GIFs, Giphy soon expanded to tools that enabled millions of internet users to seamlessly embed the short animations on sites like Facebook and Twitter, helping to make “reaction GIFs” the core medium for digital expression it is today.

Facebook characterized the acquisition—reportedly worth $400 million—as a way to help its millions of users “better express themselves.” “By bringing Instagram and Giphy together, we can make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers in Stories and Direct,” Vishal Shah, vice president of product at Instagram, said in the announcement.