<s>
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
was	O
a	O
media	O
and	O
technology	O
company	O
based	O
in	O
Toronto	O
,	O
Canada	O
,	O
and	O
founded	O
in	O
2007	O
by	O
Jacob	O
Blackstock	O
,	O
David	O
Kennedy	O
,	O
Shahan	O
Panth	O
,	O
Dorian	O
Baldwin	O
,	O
and	O
Jesse	O
Brown	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
web	B-Application
application	I-Application
,	O
Bitstrips.com,	O
allowed	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
comic	O
strips	O
using	O
personalized	O
avatars	B-Application
,	O
and	O
preset	O
templates	O
and	O
poses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
was	O
first	O
presented	O
in	O
2008	O
at	O
South	O
by	O
Southwest	O
in	O
Austin	O
,	O
Texas	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
service	O
later	O
piloted	O
and	O
launched	O
a	O
version	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
as	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
service	O
achieved	O
increasing	O
prominence	O
following	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
versions	O
for	O
Facebook	B-Application
and	O
mobile	B-Application
platforms	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
launched	O
a	O
spin-off	O
app	O
known	O
as	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
personalized	O
stickers	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
messaging	O
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2016	O
,	O
Snap	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
acquired	O
the	O
company	O
;	O
the	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
comic	O
service	O
was	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
but	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
remains	O
operational	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
subsequently	O
been	O
given	O
greater	O
prominence	O
within	O
Snapchat	B-Application
's	I-Application
overall	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
was	O
co-developed	O
by	O
Toronto-based	O
comic	O
artist	O
Jacob	O
Blackstock	O
and	O
his	O
high	O
school	O
friend	O
,	O
journalist	O
Jesse	O
Brown	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brown	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
service	O
would	O
be	O
"	O
groundwork	O
for	O
a	O
whole	O
new	O
way	O
to	O
communicate	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
went	O
as	O
far	O
as	O
describing	O
the	O
service	O
as	O
being	O
a	O
"	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
for	O
comics	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blackstock	O
explained	O
that	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
was	O
influenced	O
by	O
his	O
own	O
use	O
of	O
comics	O
as	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
socialization	O
;	O
a	O
student	O
,	O
Blackstock	O
and	O
his	O
friends	O
drew	O
comics	O
featuring	O
each	O
other	O
and	O
shared	O
them	O
during	O
classes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
felt	O
that	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
was	O
a	O
"	O
medium	O
for	O
self-expression	O
"	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
It	O
's	O
not	O
just	O
about	O
you	O
making	O
the	O
comics	O
,	O
but	O
since	O
you	O
and	O
your	O
friends	O
star	O
in	O
these	O
comics	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
like	O
you	O
're	O
the	O
medium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
service	O
introduced	O
a	O
version	O
oriented	O
towards	O
the	O
educational	O
market	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
for	O
Schools	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
initially	O
piloted	O
at	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
schools	O
in	O
Ontario	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2012	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
launched	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
Facebook	B-Application
;	O
by	O
July	O
2013	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
had	O
10	O
million	O
unique	O
users	O
on	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
having	O
created	O
over	O
50	O
million	O
comics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2013	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
launched	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
;	O
in	O
two	O
months	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
became	O
a	O
top-downloaded	O
app	O
in	O
40	O
countries	O
,	O
and	O
over	O
30	O
million	O
avatars	B-Application
had	O
been	O
created	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2013	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
secured	O
a	O
round	O
of	O
funding	O
from	O
Horizons	O
Ventures	O
and	O
Li	O
Ka-shing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2014	O
,	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
launched	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
,	O
a	O
spin-off	O
app	O
that	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
create	O
stickers	O
featuring	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
characters	O
in	O
various	O
templates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2016	O
,	O
following	O
unconfirmed	O
reports	O
earlier	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
,	O
Snap	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
acquired	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
's	O
staff	O
continue	O
to	O
operate	O
out	O
of	O
Toronto	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
original	O
Bitstrips	B-Operating_System
comic	O
service	O
was	O
shut	O
down	O
in	O
favour	O
of	O
focusing	O
exclusively	O
on	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
acquisition	O
,	O
Snapchat	B-Application
's	I-Application
app	O
was	O
updated	O
to	O
integrate	O
with	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
link	O
their	O
accounts	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
apps	O
and	O
add	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
to	O
their	O
posts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2017	O
,	O
animated	O
,	O
3D	O
rendered	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
were	O
introduced	O
to	O
Snapchat	B-Application
's	I-Application
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
"	O
World	O
Lenses	O
"	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
Snap	O
acquisition	O
,	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
has	O
seen	O
significant	O
growth	O
;	O
in	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
was	O
the	O
most-downloaded	O
app	O
on	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
in	O
Australia	O
,	O
Canada	O
,	O
France	O
,	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
Apple	O
stated	O
that	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
was	O
the	O
most-downloaded	O
iOS	B-Application
app	I-Application
worldwide	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
followed	O
in	O
second	O
place	O
by	O
Snapchat	B-Application
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
month	O
,	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
released	O
an	O
update	O
branded	O
as	O
"	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
Deluxe	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
includes	O
a	O
wider	O
array	O
of	O
customization	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2018	O
,	O
Snap	O
launched	O
its	O
development	O
platform	O
Snap	O
Kit	O
,	O
which	O
includes	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
offer	O
access	O
to	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
stickers	O
within	O
third-party	O
services	O
with	O
a	O
Snapchat	B-Application
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
Snap	O
announced	O
a	O
new	O
multiplayer	B-Application
mobile	I-Application
game	I-Application
within	O
the	O
Snapchat	B-Application
app	O
known	O
as	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
Party	O
,	O
where	O
players	O
use	O
their	O
Bitmoji	B-Operating_System
characters	O
in-game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
that	O
month	O
,	O
Snap	O
announced	O
a	O
new	O
software	B-Application
development	I-Application
kit	I-Application
for	O
selected	O
partners	O
.	O
</s>
