Waze, the Israeli traffic map app company whose U.S. headquarters is on Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, is rumored to be in negotiations with Apple for acquisition.
Tech Crunch is reporting that “Apple is sniffing around Waze with a view to a possible acquisition,” according to Mike Butcher, editor of Tech Crunch Europe. “After all, Waze is already a data partner for Apple’s Maps app and was the only app to gain meaningful marketshare after the Apple Maps fail.”
A call by Patch to Waze in Palo Alto has not been returned. The exact number of Waze employees in Palo Alto is not known.
Tech Crunch reached an Apple spokesperson who, when questioned about Waze, responded, “We don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”
Maps have been a rare worm in Apple’s iPhone5. Apple composted its Apple Maps after widespread criticism and glitches. Since then, the company was rumored to be in the market for Foursquare. But the free Waze app has been widely adopted in Asia and the Middle East, giving Apple a built-in market.
If Waze is purchased by Apple, the fate of Palo Alto Waze employees is yet to be determined.
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