Apple reportedly buys Israeli start-up Cue for $35m

Social media aggregator to help Apple's Today function to compete with Google Now

Apple has reportedly purchased Cue, an Israeli start-up behind a personal assistant app for the iPhone, for at least $35m (£21.7m).

Cue, formerly known as Greplin, was a social search start-up that has reportedly received $10m in funding from Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures and a group of angel investors.

The Cue app for the iPhone aggregates data from a number of social media sources to create a personal agenda for the user. It aims to make a user's social media accounts easier to manage through a standardised calendar.

The app itself was shutdown last week, and Cue apologised to its users for any inconvenience that may have been caused. Subscription holders would be refunded on a pro-rata basis, it said.

"It's been an incredible journey that wouldn't have been possible without your loyal support," Cue told its users.

TechCrunch reported that this was a result of Apple acquiring the firm. But the Cupertino, California-based firm only went as far as confirming that it "buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and it generally does not discuss its purpose or plans".

Apple is likely to use the app to improve its Today function on iOS 7, so that it can compete with Google Now, a similar service for Android.

Cue, which is unlikely to be shut down post-acquisiton, was founded by entrepreneurs Daniel Gross and Robby Walker. Gross, 21, is from Jerusalem but now lives in California.

Israel's Calcalist website said that Gross had planned to serve in the Israeli army, but changed his mind after Greplin had generated interest in Silicon Valley.