Mozilla acquires Pocket developer Read It Later for undisclosed sum

Mozilla Corporation has loosened its purse strings and splashed an undisclosed sum of money on buying Read It Later, the company behind web service and browser plugin Pocket.

Described as the company's "first strategic acquisition", Mozilla's purchase of Pocket is part of a drive to promote the discoverability and accessibility of online content. Read It Later will clearly benefit from Mozilla's acquisition, and the Firefox producer says that the developer will also help to accelerate its Context Graph initiative.

The acquisition means that Pocket will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla Corporation and will also become part of the Mozilla open source project. There are no plans to make any changes at the company, or to the software itself, and a shared vision ("protecting the openness of the web and creating a content platform built around trust and privacy") seems to have played an important role in the two companies coming together.

Mozilla CEO Chris Beard says:

We believe that the discovery and accessibility of high quality web content is key to keeping the internet healthy by fighting against the rising tide of centralization and walled gardens. Pocket provides people with the tools they need to engage with and share content on their own terms, independent of hardware platform or content silo, for a safer, more empowered and independent online experience.

Read It Later is looking forward to taking full advantage of Mozilla's size and clout while maintaining its independence. Pocket founder Nate Weiner says:

Pocket will continue on as a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of Mozilla Corporation. We’ll be staying in our office, and our name will still be on the wall. Our team isn’t changing and our existing roadmap has been reinforced and is clearer than ever. In fact, we have a few major updates up our sleeves that we are really excited to get into your hands in the coming months.

He goes on to say: "How does Mozilla fit into this equation? They're adding fuel to our rocketship. We have worked closely with Mozilla as we partnered with their Firefox team, and established a deep trust with their team and vision.  They have extraordinary resources, global scale, and reach to put Pocket in more places, and help us build an even better product, faster."