Topline
Twitter’s recently formed parent company X Corp., has reportedly acquired tech hiring platform Laskie, in what is the first acquisition carried out by the social media platform under the ownership of Elon Musk, who has vowed to transform Twitter into a so-called “everything app.”
Twitter has reportedly acquired job matching platform Laskie, its first major acquisition under Elon … [+]
Key Facts
The acquisition was first reported by Axios and later corroborated by Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source who said the “part-equity and part-cash” deal had closed recently.
Laskie’s website has been replaced with a blank page that says the “platform is no longer available.”
The website previously helped match tech job seekers with employers based on details from their profile and an employer’s requirements, circumventing the traditional job posting and application process.
Musk, Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino and Laskie founder Chris Bakke—who is followed by Musk on Twitter—have yet to make a comment about the acquisition.
It is also unclear if Twitter plans to integrate Laskie’s job-matching service on its platform or allow it to continue running independently.
Big Number
$6 million. That is the amount of funding that Laskie raised from a group of investors led by Bloomberg Beta and Peak State Ventures in December 2021. The company, however, had not disclosed the valuation at which it had raised that amount.
Key Background
Last month, Twitter informed its business partners that “Twitter, Inc. has been renamed to X Corp.,” and the company will be conducting all its businesses under this new name going forward. The name X Corp is a reference to Musk’s ambition to build “X”, a so-called everything app, similar to the likes of WeChat and Kakao, which are popular in Asia and offer a bevy of services including text messaging, calling, e-commerce and payments, among other things. As part of this push, Twitter rolled out encrypted direct messaging last week, although the feature remains severely limited in its current state. Musk has also promised to add both voice and video calling to Twitter soon, allowing it to take on the like of iMessage, Facetime, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Further Reading
Twitter makes its first acquisition with a recruiting startup (Axios)
Musk Makes First Acquisition for Twitter Parent, Job Tool Laskie (Bloomberg)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/05/16/twitter-reportedly-acquires-job-platform-laskie-in-first-major-deal-under-musk/