UPDATED 22:47 EDT / APRIL 02 2015

NEWS

LinkedIn acquires predictive insights app maker Refresh

refreshLinkedIn Inc. has acquired predictive insights app maker Refresh Inc. for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2011, Refresh offers an iOS app that gives users the “right insights about the people you’re about to meet.”

If that makes no sense, you won’t be alone, but the easier way of describing it is that the app gives you background on the person you’re going to meet, a cheat sheet if you like of things it thinks you should know about the person, so you can (in their words) “spark what’s possible in every conversation,” or put more simply, talk about things you know the person you’re meeting with is interested in.

In a statement on the Refresh blog, Cheif Executive Officer and Founder Bhavin Shah, in one of the more interesting “what I was inspired by” explanations by a startup founder, explained where the idea came about:

Inspiration for Refresh came in 2004 when I was in Afghanistan with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson launching a program to teach illiterate women about pre-natal health. I admired his briefing book, which outlined every detail of the trip and prepared him for every conversation, and realized that everyone could use their own briefing book to help them be more successful.

In terms of the acquisition, he added that “our joint passion for delivering insights that help professionals be more productive is what makes joining LinkedIn so exciting…Plus, LinkedIn gives us an opportunity to share insights with more than 347 million professionals across the globe.”

Based in Mountview, CA, Refresh had raised $10 million in one round prior to acquisition. Investors included Haystack, Foundation Capital, CRV and Redpoint Ventures


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