Snapchat acquired Bitstrips, the company behind Bitmoji, in 2016.
Bitstrips was a Toronto-based company founded in 2007 that let users create comic strips with personalized cartoon avatars. Its Bitmoji spin-off launched in 2014, turning those avatars into customized stickers for messaging.
Snapchat announced the acquisition in July 2016. Reports valued the deal at more than $100 million. Afterward, Snapchat shut down the original Bitstrips comic service and concentrated on Bitmoji, integrating avatars and stickers into Snapchat.
A common mix-up is confusing the acquisition year with Bitmoji’s launch year: Bitmoji debuted in 2014, but Snapchat bought its creator two years later. Snapchat also rebranded as Snap Inc. in September 2016, a separate corporate change that happened during the same year.