Vurb

Innovative but niche mobile search startup acquired by Snap before reaching mass scale

Vurb was a San Francisco-based mobile search and discovery startup that reimagined how users find and share information on smartphones. Rather than returning a list of blue links, Vurb aggregated contextual cards pulling data from apps like Yelp, Rotten Tomatoes, OpenTable, and Google Maps, allowing users to research, plan, and share activities — such as a night out or a movie — within a single unified interface. The app was particularly notable for its social layer, enabling friends to collaborate around shared plans and recommendations. Founded in 2012 by Bobby Lo and Adam Ghahramani, Vurb raised approximately $20M in venture funding from investors including Redpoint Ventures and SV Angel before attracting the attention of Snap Inc. In August 2016, Snap acquired Vurb for a reported ~$114.5M — one of the largest acquisitions in Snap's history at the time — primarily to bolster its search and contextual discovery capabilities within Snapchat. Following the acquisition, Vurb's technology and team were integrated into Snap's broader product ecosystem, with its contextual card and discovery concepts informing features within Snapchat Discover and search. The Vurb brand was subsequently retired, and the standalone app was shut down. Vurb's legacy lies in its early vision of card-based, cross-app mobile discovery, a concept that influenced how major platforms approach in-app search and content surfacing.