Google launches “new” reverse-image search engine—three years after a Toronto tech company did it first

Three years ago, Leila Boujnane’s Idée Inc. developed an oh-so-cool reverse-image search engine called TinEye. At the time, Boujnane knew she’d created something big. Essentially, TinEye allows users to trace an image to its source and find out whether a modified version or higher-resolution alternative is available. But now, her something is Google’s something—the latest evolution of Google Inc.’s Google Google project—meaning Boujnane’s cutting-edge idea is about to get a heck of a lot bigger, and fast.

The Financial Post has the story:

For many technology startups, the prospect of a technology giant co-opting their creation, building it into their core platform and rolling it out to their millions of existing users is nothing short of a nightmare.

But Ms. Boujnane doesn’t see it that way. Instead, she feels that her company’s strategy of licensing its technology to businesses differentiates it from Google, a consumer search engine.

“Google has put searching by image at the future of search,” she said.

“This is no longer a nice-to-have feature, it is a must-have feature, which will drive mobile commerce and enterprise search. Good for Google. Good for us.”

Could Boujnane’s reaction be more typically Toronto? We think not.

• Google muscles in on Canadian startup [Financial Post]