Wikibuy, an Austin startup that makes online price comparison tools, has been acquired by banking giant Capital One, the companies announced Tuesday.
"Our team has been together since the beginning, and everyone at Wikibuy will be joining Capital One," the startup's co-CEOs Walt Roloson and Adam Gauvin wrote in a blog. "Wikibuy will also remain headquartered in Austin, Texas."
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Wikibuy was founded in 2014 by 1-800-Contacts founder Jonathan Coon and Roloson, whose career includes stints in investment banking and mergers in New York and a stint at senior manager of business operations at LinkedIn. Coon and Roloson also work together at Impossible Ventures, an Austin product lab and investment firm.
Gauvin, a former director of product at RetailMeNot and former mobile products leader at LinkedIn, joined as head of product in 2015 and became co-CEO last year.
Since launching, Wikibuy has attracted about 2 million members who, through comparison shopping, help save about $50 million.
Wikibuy is joining Capital One! Our deepest gratitude to everyone who helped make this possible. @jcoon1800, investors, advisors, advertisers, and customers. The best is yet to come and we couldn't be more excited to continue the journey with Capital One. https://t.co/1L2R0TQsEh
— Adam Gauvin (@admgvn) November 20, 2018
The Wikibuy app does that by leveraging data from other members who are hunting for the best deal. The founders compare it to Waze, the traffic navigation app that uses other drivers' data to help find you the quickest route. Wikibuy is perhaps best known for helping folks comparison shop on Amazon, but it goes well beyond that by integrating coupon opportunities and helping find deals across sites including eBay and Jet.com.
Wikibuy doesn't appear to have reported raising any venture capital investment. But in their blog, the founders thanked investors for believing in Wikibuy when it was just an idea.
"Nothing makes us happier than saving money for our users. As a part of Capital One, Wikibuy can be singularly focused on expanding our offering to deliver even more savings for our tens of millions of customers," the co-CEOs wrote.
