Facebook buys Mobile Technologies, speech recognition firm

Facebook Inc., owner of the world’s most popular social-networking service, agreed to acquire Mobile Technologies, a developer of speech-recognition tools.

The Pittsburgh-based company will help Facebook improve products as voice technology becomes an increasingly important way for people to navigate the Web, Tom Stocky, a product- management director at Facebook, said on the company’s website today. Terms weren’t disclosed.

“Although more than a billion people around the world already use Facebook every month, we are always looking for ways to help connect the rest of the world as well,” Stocky wrote. “This acquisition is an investment in our long-term product road map as we continue toward our company’s mission.”

Facebook is bolstering efforts to keep users engaged with its services, adding new features that help people more easily communicate and share information. The company reached 1.15 billion users during the second quarter.

Mobile Technologies, founded in 2001, developed Jibbigo, a a speech-to-speech translator application for phones, according to the company’s website. Mobile Technologies also provides an automatic interpretation service for lectures.