Apple acquired Topsy Labs, a social analytics firm, in December 2013 for $225 million, but two years down the line, the Cupertino-based company has shut down the service.
It is not known why Apple has closed the service barely two years after its acquisition.
For the unfamiliar, San Francisco-based Topsy Labs specializes in the analysis of data from Twitter, which allows it to trace patterns of customer likes and, therefore, offer insights on several topics.
At the time of acquisition, it was estimated that Apple would have access to Topsy's data, which would in turn help it and its partners who curate content for iAd, the iTunes store, as well as iOS app developers.
While Apple has not offered any clarity on Topsy's place in its scheme of things, it is believed, that the company deployed Topsy's technology and know-how to enhance its products with more in-depth search features. iOS 9, for example, brought in its folds a "Proactive" feature that leveraged data from Calendar, Contacts, Siri, Passbook and third-party applications to bring more pertinent search functionalities and results users' way.
Topsy's Twitter handle has frequent tweets until Nov. 20, post which the frequency of the tweets reduced and became sporadic, followed by the final goodbye post.
We've searched our last tweet.
— Topsy (@Topsy) December 16, 2015
Interestingly, if one navigates to Topsy's official website Topsy.com, one gets redirected from the URL automatically to a support page for Apple, which gives directions on how one can deploy Search on their iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone.
This redirection seems odd as one would expect an official announcement pertaining to the service's shutdown or some explanation on why it has become defunct.
Apple, too, has not issued any statement on why the service has shut down abruptly, adding to the mystery.
Whether Topsy Labs has become completely defunct or has changed hands and will appear in a new avatar remains unclear.
