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Snapchat is the image-messaging application that has become especially popular with the 18-24-year-old set — a March round of financing which raised US$175 million from Fidelity valued the company at US$16 billion.

Bitstrips most recently raised US$8 million in series B funding from Bay Area venture capitalists Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Hong Kong-based Horizons Ventures.

Sources confirmed to the Financial Post that all members of the Bitstrips team accepted offers to work at Snapchat and will remain based in Toronto. Bitstrips lists 26 employees on its website.

“Both companies were working to make mobile communication more human and more fun,” said Bitstrips founder Jacob Blackstock in a statement. “So we’re incredibly excited to be joining the innovative team over at Snapchat.”

Snapchat, founded in 2011, originally allowed users to post and send photo messages to friends and followers which would disappear after a set period of time. It has since added video features and now allows users to create story collages using several media items together. For example, Miami-based record producer DJ Khaled once documented in a series of videos the fact that he got lost off the Florida coast while riding a jet ski at night.

Not long after the acquisition in March, Snapchat included sticker support in its app, suggesting it was preparing to integrate Bitmojis into its offering. As of today, Snapchat users can now link their Bitmoji account to their profile and it will appear in the app ready for use. Users who don’t have a Bitmoji account can log in and set one up on Snapchat.

Users will also find that if they and a friend both have Bitmoji, “friendship stickers” featuring both of their avatars will be available.