Podcasts Technology Acquired WhatsApp

WhatsApp

Published: Jan. 29, 2020, 4:48 a.m.

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We kick off Season 6 with a long-awaited Acquired Classic: Facebook\\u2019s $22B purchase of WhatsApp in 2014, which still ranks as the largest acquisition of a private VC-backed startup in history. Yet despite that enormous pricetag and all its associated fanfare, as we sit here 5+ years later WhatsApp actually generates LESS revenue than the meager ~$20m it was bringing in at the time of acquisition. Was this this worst acquisition of all-time, or a brilliant strategic chess move by Mark Zuckerberg & co? Tune in as we render Acquired\\u2019s judgement!

Note: Unfortunately David\\u2019s audio quality in this episode was impacted by a technical glitch which we didn\\u2019t discover until after recording. Our editors worked super hard to fix in post-production, but it\\u2019s still not totally perfect. We hope you\\u2019ll give it a listen regardless, and we\\u2019re working on getting a transcript made ASAP, which we\\u2019ll post to the website when it\\u2019s ready. Thanks for bearing with us,

-Ben & David\\xa0

Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
Crusoe: https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoe
Modern Treasury: https://bit.ly/acquiredmoderntreasury


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