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There has been a lot of spoiled news about societal medium startups lately . Multiple company , including Twitter alternativePost News , andIRLhave shut down . AndShareChat ’s valuationhas dropped more than 50 % after a recent funding turn . But amid the negative headlines , the recent exit of Gallic social meshing BeReal looks like a bright spot .
BeReal , which alerts users that they have two minutes to “ be material ” by deal both a front - facing pic and a selfie , wasacquired by Voodoo , a French mobile game and app unicorn , for € 500 million ( $ 537 million ) this week .
This bargain values BeReal at a venial haircut off its last rating of $ 587 million in April 2022 . BeReal promote capital from venture firms , including Accel , Andreessen Horowitzand Coatue , among others . The startup currently has 40 million active users , half of whom use the app at least six days a week , according to a press release regarding the acquisition . report peg everyday users to bearound 25 million .
Despite the companionship ’s popularity , its user growth has mostly plateaued in late calendar month , and BeReal was not in great fiscal figure leading up to this spate . In March , at an all - hand get together , BeReal employee were enjoin thatthe company only had about 10 months of runway leftand would either need to raise more or be acquire to keep live on , according to Business Insider .
Well , the company get under one’s skin its compliments .
The family relationship between Voodoo and BeReal begin years ago when Voodoo helped BeReal inflate to the U.S. , Voodoo co - beginner and CEO Alexandre Yazdi told TechCrunch . Yazdi add that BeReal is presently the only social media platform that he utilise .
He also said that he is aware of the company ’s late struggle to grow its user , especially amid a cliff - off in the U.S. , but he ’s surefooted that the base product is dependable enough to sustain the company — it just require some new features and a little supporter , he says .
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“ BeReal is the most successful social medium that has been create in the last eight years , ” Yazdi said . “ They have really created something unparalleled . Their success evince that users really craved more authenticity . They have 40 million users and the vast legal age military post six twenty-four hour period a calendar week . That ’s a strong baseline and groundwork to build on . ”
Yazdi said that Voodoo , which has build three social networks of its own , is the perfect partner to “ write the next page of the story . ” Yazdi said they plan to vagabond out features like electronic messaging and video to the platform as a room to boost user mesh .
He also enjoin that they design to incorporate advertising into user ’ feeds . BeReal had yet to monetise thus far , but Yazdi said they will go BeReal ’s foreign mission of authenticity and be designed to not be disruptive to users .
There is a lot of good about this deal . For one , it ’s likely the only way BeReal would be able to keep operating , and as someone who still uses it on the regular , that is worth fete on its own . So anything that have BeReal the capital and support it postulate to undertake some subject and potentially get back on the track of growing substance abuser , while also starting to take in revenue , seems like the best - font scenario for a inauguration that very easily could have just had to close up up shop .
Plus , Voodoo seems like a nice home for the app . The party has build and run for societal platform of its own , and Yazdi is passionate about the literal merchandise . This is not what a typical acquisition looks like , where a troupe is seeing stalled maturation and financial struggles .
I ’m a short more hesitating on the company ’s plan to monetize , however . Making money through ads is a natural choice for societal media company , but I vex about how existing substance abuser will feel about ads , the precise opposite of “ reliable ” photos of their friends , and if that could put a seam in the society ’s plan to lure mass back .
While I get that social media startups have only so many way to monetise , most people are n’t willing to pay for it , asX has repeatedly chance out . And user do n’t seem to love the growing number ofads on XorInstagrameither . I ’m also not sure the summation of schmoose or the power to put up television will be enough to persuade users to total back , especially if they give back to a feed threaded with ads .
But Yazdi is confident that the ship’s company will get back to originate because of how differentiated its strategy really is . He enounce that it will be a challenge to get BeReal to where they want it , but a worthy one , while retain the “ commission ” of the startup at heart .
“ We are never get to break that DNA of genuineness , ” Yazdi said . “ This is the BeReal . We are not going to touch that desoxyribonucleic acid . ”
substance abuser will be the judge of that .
