Tile - the popular object tracking company - is going to be bought out by Life360 in a deal valued around $205 million. 

Life360 is a platform that works in a similar way to Apple's Find My network, in that it helps you locate and track family/close circle members through its app. 

In the press release it's announced that combining the two companies will lead to a single service that will allow you to locate and track family, pets and objects all in one cross-platform app. 

Life360's CEO stated "With the acquisition of Tile, we will now be able to provide a unique and all-encompassing solution for finding the people, pets and things that families care about most."

Ever since Apple entered the object tracking market with its very own AirTag - with Find My support and instant access to a network of millions of potential users - Tile's been under increasing pressure. 

Because of its competitive price point, the sheer size of its consumer base, and the fact that almost any iPhone in the world can be used to anonymously locate lost AirTags, the Apple-made tracker immediately became attractive to many.

Tile responded with new trackers this year, but is looking to the future in this latest move. 

Having both the object and family/close person tracking in one single app that works on both Android and iOS gives Tile and Life360 a more competitive platform that can compete directly with Apple's Find My solution, but crucially, is open to the billions of people who use Android phones. 

The deal is expected to close officially in early 2022.