PayPal has acquired Palo Alto based start-up Iron Pearl, which analyses data and develops computer models aimed at driving the viral spread of products and services over the Internet.

Iron Pearl has built several tools, methodologies and intellectual property, along with new approaches to data analysis and analytical modelling.

One of its founders, Stan Chudnovsky, will assume the role of vice president of growth, while James Currier, the other founder, will be the company’s growth advisor.

The new Growth team at PayPal will be aimed at increasing the company’s customer base and engaging existing customers more actively by leveraging information to build new marketing approaches and product initiatives.

PayPal president David Marcus said there are only a handful of world-renowned "Growth Hackers" with amazing track records and Stan is one of them.

"He managed to create genuine and sustained viral growth and retention for his own startups, and has advised others to grow at tremendous pace, leading to hundreds of millions of unique new users," Marcus said.

"We’re confident that applying this unique, and highly effective skill set to PayPal will lead to making our groundbreaking payments experiences even more ubiquitous for our merchants and consumers."