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Innovation

Yahoo bets on teenage entrepreneur's app, buys Summly

For a 17 year-old, earning potentially millions of dollars can't be a bad way to enter the workforce.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

For a 17 year-old, earning potentially millions of dollars can't be a bad way to enter the workforce.

London-based Nick D'Aloisio, has sold the text summarization application Summly after developing the app for two years. On Monday, tech giant Yahoo announced that the firm had purchased the application from the teenage entrepreneur, and the deal potentially involved tens of millions of dollars.

Although the app is free and currently generates no revenue, its wide use across Android and iOS platforms to automatically summarize articles -- perfect for today's TLDR (too long, didn't read) skimming mentality -- and the algorithm used is what has attracted Yahoo's attention.

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Yahoo, under the control of CEO Marissa Mayer, is attempting to target the mobile devices and "daily habits" of users. By closing down the Summly app and incorporating its technology within Yahoo services, the tech giant will be able to monetize the system. It is the sixth startup acquisition Yahoo has made this year.

D'Aloisio may have a bright future in computer science, but plans to go to university to study humanities while his parents managed his money. He said that it would be "reasonable" to spend some time at Yahoo, and that there are "no limits on time. I want to go in with open eyes and try to innovate."

Via: Wall Street Journal

Image credit: Summly

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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