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Oyster is a streaming service for digital ebooks, available for Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, and NOOK HD/HD+ devices. It is also available on any web browser on a desktop or laptop computer. Oyster holds over 1 million books in its library, and as of September 2015, the service is only available in the United States.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ebook subscription services get a boost with help from Macmillan )〕 In September 2015, it was reported that Google acquired Oyster. No terms were disclosed but speculation put the price at somewhere between $20 million and $30 million.〔(Oyster shuts down, founders to lead Google Books New York ). September 22, 2015〕 As a part of the acquisition it was reported that the founders would be leading Google Play Books in New York.〔(Oyster shuts down, founders to lead Google Books New York ). September 22, 2015〕 In conjunction with the acquisition, Oyster reported on its blog that it would be shutting down its existing service in early 2016.〔(/ Oyster HQ Blog ). September 22, 2015〕 == History == The company was founded in 2012 by Eric Stromberg, Andrew Brown, and Willem Van Lancker, and is headquartered in New York City. In October 2012, Oyster received $3 million in seed funding led by Founders Fund, a San Francisco based venture capital firm founded by Peter Thiel and Ken Howery. On January 14, 2014, Oyster announced a $14 million funding round, led by Highland Capital Partners. Oyster launched on September 5, 2013, opening paid access, at $9.95 a month, via invitations available on a first-come, first-served basis. The service was the first subscription service to bring on a "Big Five" publisher in HarperCollins, with Mashable calling the service the "first true Netflix-for-E-books." Common early criticisms included limited content and lack of multi-platform support, but its reading experience and design were widely praised. Within ten days, users had read over a million pages. On October 16, 2013, Oyster launched support for the iPad. The company also removed invitations as a requirement to join, and offered a 30-day free trial to all new users. Along with an iOS app redesign, the website additionally allowed for browsing of curated book lists.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Bustle )〕 In June 2014, the company expanded its services to Android and Kindle Fire devices, and in July 2014, the company launched a web reader application. In November 2014, Oyster launched its online editorial magazine, ''(The Oyster Review )'', and its Author Advisory Board. Oyster's Author Advisory Board is composed of authors Roxane Gay, Megan Abbott, and Lauren Oliver. In March 2015, the company hired Jeannie Mun as its first CFO. Mun was previously the CFO of MediaMath. In April 2015, Oyster launched an ebook store, offering complete catalogues from all of the Big Five publishers for individual purchase, as a complement to its existing subscription service, Oyster Unlimited. In September 2015, Oyster announced that it would sunset the existing Oyster service "over the next several months" and the company was to be acquired by Google. Google and Oyster did not comment but there is speculation that Google plans to enter the subscription market for ebooks. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oyster (company)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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