Yahoo acquires smart homescreen app for Android

Onstage at CES today, Marissa Mayer announced that Yahoo had acquired Aviate, an Android app that shows users a dynamic home screen with the best apps and information it thinks they need. The purchase fits into Mayer’s ongoing strategy of creating personalized mobile software that becomes a daily habit. No purchase price was announced, but Aviate has raised a little under $2 million in financing to date.

Kicking off Yahoo’s CES 2014 keynote presentation, CEO Marissa Mayer announced thecompany’s latest acquisition, Aviate. The Android app, which never actually exited its beta test, was purchased by Yahoo for an undisclosed sum; the app had previously raised a total of $2 million in financing, according to The Verge. Aviate offers a constantly-changing homescreen for your Android smartphone based on your location, time of day, and some extra information you put in yourself. It’s unclear whether Yahoo will keep the app as is or integrate the technology into its own products and kill it off. It’s also possible that like with previous acquisitions, the main purpose here was to bring more talented mobile developers under Yahoo’s umbrella. For now, the app is still available on Google Play.