Twitter amps up design chops, buys IP from studio Nclud
Twitter's latest acquisition brings in fresh design talent and IP, though the company isn't saying much about it.
Twitter has acquired the intellectual property of Nclud, a small web design agency, for an undisclosed amount.
"I can confirm that some members of the nclud team now work at Twitter," a Twitter spokesperson wrote in an email. "Twitter did not acquire nclud, the company, but we did acquire their IP." Earlier reports said Twitter had bought the company outright.
The Twitter spokesperson wouldn't say what is included in Nclud's IP or how many members of the firm's 10 member team now work at the company. Nclude co-founder Martin Ringlein announced in a tweet that he is the new design manager for Twitter, and later noted that he was filling out paperwork today at Twitter with two other Nclude team members.
The Washington, DC-based Nclud has designed a number of web and mobile screen interfaces, including iPhone apps for Oracle, Puma and the National Journal.
One question is how Twitter might use Nclud's IP to help it better make money from its service. The purchase follows a report last week saying that Twitter expects to post at least $1 billion in revenue by 2014.