5 Most Expensive Twitter Acquisitions
Twitter's business model may revolve around microblogging and direct messaging, but don't be fooled by the simplicity of its services. As of May 2020, an average of 6,000 tweets are sent per second, and the company Twitter Inc. was valued at $22.5 billion a year prior. Twitter is a big company, and what big companies do is acquire smaller ones, but sometimes acquisitions come at a steep price. Here are the five most expensive Twitter acquisitions:
1. Periscope - $100 million
Periscope is a video streaming startup that Twitter acquired in 2015. Twitter saw Periscope as a means to further expand its video capabilities with the latter already having a strong following after being founded in 2014. The Twitter brand retained Periscope as its subsidiary, and the app was launched in March, allowing users to broadcast videos in real-time.
2. Gnip - $134 million
In a cash and stock deal worth $134 million, Twitter acquired application programming interface (API) aggregation company Gnip in 2014. Founded in 2008, Gnip was one of the first companies to provide social media API aggregation services and had already provided data to Twitter even before the acquisition.
3. Magic Pony Technology - $150 million
Magic Pony Technology is a London-based AI startup that develops neural network systems for image-related data expansion. Twitter acquired the company in 2016 for around $150 million while also retaining its co-founders. The acquisition allows the Twitter app to enhance video quality, easily expand photo sizes, and develop VR graphics with the help of neural network development and machine learning.
4. MoPub Advertising Solutions - $350 million
In the hopes to generate more Twitter ads and boost Twitter business accounts, the company acquired MoPub Advertising Solutions in 2013 through a common stock deal. MoPub is a mobile advertising exchange platform that allows advertisers to automate purchases in a single platform. Before the acquisition, MoPub was already generating $100 million per year.
5. TellApart - $479 million
TellApart is Twitter's most expensive acquisition. It is a digital advertising platform that essentially generates revenue through ad generation. Ads come in the form of tweets and user-based actions. Unfortunately, the acquisition only decreased Twitter advertising revenue resulting in the San Francisco-based company completely removing TellApart from its group of subsidiaries.
Social media may revolve around Facebook and Twitter, but Twitter still has the edge when it comes to connecting people around the world through different subject matters and ideas. With the world being more connected as ever, it's not surprising that Twitter will acquire more companies in the future.
