Elon Musk acquires a startup
May 16, 2023
Elon Musk’s Twitter has reportedly made its first acquisition since the Tesla and SpaceX CEO took over the company. As per recent reports, Twitter has acquired a job-matching startup called Laskie.
The deal, which was reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars, suggests that Musk is putting some effort into turning Twitter into a “super-app” that offers multiple functions to its users. Musk has noted in the past that he would like Twitter to have numerous integrated services, including payments and monetized video content.
Laskie, which was founded in 2021, is a San Francisco-based startup that describes itself, as per its LinkedIn page, as the “most powerful platform to hire tech talent.” The startup notes that its tools are designed to give applicants a better job search experience. Its tools also provide companies an efficient way to find high-quality candidates quickly.
Interestingly enough, Laskie’s official website appears to have been completely wiped amidst reports that the platform has been acquired by Twitter. The URL laskie.com now simply opens to a rather cryptic message stating that “The Laskie platform is no longer available.”
Laskie has raised $6 million in total funding, as per Pitchbook data. The company’s CEO, Chris Bakke, previously sold another startup to online job board Indeed. A source reportedly familiar with the matter also informed Axios that Twitter is paying for Laskie in cash and stock, though the exact price of the transaction was not shared.
It’s unclear how Twitter plans to integrate Laskie’s technology into its platform. That being said, an integrated job search service on Twitter would be quite interesting, especially considering the open and steady stream of conversations among the platform’s users.
It remains to be seen how Musk will integrate Laskie’s technology into Twitter. Despite this, the reported acquisition is still a pretty notable sign that the CEO is taking steps towards making Twitter into a more comprehensive and useful platform for its users.