Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and co-founder of Facebook. Photographer: David Paul... [+] Morris/Bloomberg

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Facebook has acquired an artificial intelligence startup that helps users shop for furniture. The company is called GrokStyle and it's been bought for an undisclosed sum.

GrokStyle is a visual shopping app that was used by the likes of IKEA to help consumers find, explore, and decide on purchases.

In practice, the computer vision app matches user's furniture photos to online products that they could then go and buy. 

"We are excited to welcome GrokStyle to Facebook," Facebook spokeswoman Vanessa Chan said in a statement. "Their team and technology will contribute to our AI capabilities."

A goodbye message on GrokStyle's website says: "Today, we are excited to share that we are moving on as a team. Our team and technology will live on, and we will continue using our AI to build great visual search experiences for retail. As part of this next chapter, we are winding down our business."

Facebook is in a battle with companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple to find and hire the smartest AI people with the best ideas. It often does this by acquihiring startups.

Facebook has acquired several AI startups over the last few years including London AI outfit Bloomsbury AI.