GovDelivery, a cloud-based digital communication provider for government, has acquired Textizen, a platform that allows government to reach the public via mobile messaging to promote citizen engagement. GovDelivery says adding Textizen will bring more service delivery options for government to mobile devices. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Textizen was part of the 2013 Knight News Challenge and was initially piloted through Code for America in Philadelphia. This marks the first commercial acquisition for a Code for America app. The app places survey questions in physical places like parks and bus stops where residents will encounter them and can text in their opinion.
Textizen is also available through the Granicus app store.
The acquisition follows a successful partnership between GovDelivery and Textizen.
“The Textizen team has demonstrated that it can use interactive text messaging technology and creative problem solving to help improve government and engage citizens,” said Scott Burns, CEO and co-founder of GovDelivery. “Textizen’s capabilities allow us to help government succeed in the critical area of driving individuals to take action.”
GovDelivery has been on a bit of a buying spree in recent months. Late last year, the company acquired NuCivic, a civic startup that provides open source cloud services. GovDelivery said in a statement that it plans to use the acquisition to expand its services to government. NuCivic’s product offering is powered by Drupal’s open source content management system.
