Apple is set to purchase Swell, an algorithm-based iOS app for talk radio, for about $30 million, according to tech news site Re/code.
Launched in June 2013, Swell touts itself as a Pandora-like experience for news and information podcasts that “learns as you listen” and delivers highly tailored content, via NPR, BBC and others, in streams.
Concept.io engineered the app, which raised $7.2 million from early investors including DFJ, Google Ventures, InterWest Partners, and Draper Nexus Ventures. Swell’s co-founders include Ram Ramkumar, Keshav Menon and Dominic Hughes.
Despite early momentum driven by positive press and a solid rating in the Apple App Store, the iOS app itself has not been updated since December. An Android version is being beta-tested.
As part of the deal, the Swell app will be shut down this week and many members of the company’s team will be joining Apple, according to the report.
Representatives from Swell and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The reported deal for Swell comes on the heels of a slightly bigger acquisition for Apple: the $3 billion price tag for Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s Beats.
