China’s Dianhuabang acquires Taiwanese startup behind WhatsTheNumber app

Storysense Computing, the Taipei-based startup behind phone number search app WhatsTheNumber, has been acquired by Dianhuabang, a like-minded startup from Beijing. The deal had been an open secret in Taipei for months, but Wednesday marked its official disclosure via a quiet report from Xinhua. The Chinese news outlet states that Dianhuabang bought Storysense for US$10 million.

Storysense Computing was founded in 2011 by Edward Shen, a graduate of the MIT Media Lab. WhatsTheNumber, the company’s flagship app, leverages artificial intelligence to help users find phone numbers for local businesses and call them using text and voice search. It also has mapping and social features baked in, making it sort of a Yellow Pages for the mobile generation. According to the company, the service is usable in more than 200 languages.

According to Xinhua, Dianhuabang provides various phone-related services for telecoms, smartphone brands, and internet companies. These services include domestic phone number search, customized text messaging and dialing, and caller ID. Its clients include Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi, and others.

While there’s plenty of Taiwanese talent working for Chinese startups, Taiwan and the mainland have two distinct internet ecosystems. For this reason and others, cross-strait acquisitions like these are rare. Recently though, high-profile Chinese founders have made visits to Taiwan expressing an interest in closing this gap. Last March, Alibaba’s Jack Ma proposed a US$315 million “not-for-profit” investment fund for Taiwan startups. Cheetah Mobile’s Fu Sheng also proposed a US$3 million fund for young Taiwanese internet companies, and recently told the media he plans to open a branch office on the island.

We’ve reached out to Storysense for more information about the acquisition and the company’s future.

Editing by Steven Millward, top image by koadmunkey