Snap Is Buying Mapping Startup Zenly for $200 Million

Snap Inc. acquired Zenly, a French startup that makes a social map so people can see where their friends are hanging out, for $200 million in cash plus additional stock awards, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Los Angeles-based Snap bought Zenly in late May, according to the person, and has already turned the product into a feature on its main Snapchat application that lets users see friends’ photo and video posts by location. The tool uses Bitmoji -- animated cartoon avatars users can personalize to depict themselves -- as the markers on the map.