Twitter reportedly was in talks to buy Clubhouse. While it is not that surprising for a company like Twitter to consider acquiring a new and popular service like Clubhouse, the added element here is that Twitter already offers Spaces. A feature that’s directly comparable to what Clubhouse currently offers. However, Spaces, along with the latest report, would seem to suggest Twitter clearly views audio conversations as what’s happening.
Clubhouse may have only launched in 2020 but it has taken the market by storm, and this is in spite of still lacking in terms of device support. To really emphasize the impact Clubhouse has had on the market in such a short space of time, LinkedIn, Instagram, Discord, among others including Twitter, have all either launched a similar feature, or are understood to be currently developing their own version.
In recent months, Twitter held talks to acquire Clubhouse, according to Bloomberg News. The deal is understood to have been valued at around $4 billion. Although the talks reportedly took place fairly recently, the report states they have since ended and it remains unclear why they stopped. In another recent report from Bloomberg News, Clubhouse is currently in the process of trying to raise funding to the tune of $4 billion. A figure that's unlikely to be a coincidence, considering it's the same reported price that was being discussed with Twitter.
A World Where Twitter Owns Clubhouse
In some ways it would make sense for a Twitter to buy a Clubhouse. The latter has grown at such a rate that securing funding is only one of its problems. With a very quick rise in the number of clone copies of Clubhouse, the audio-only app that’s still in an invite-only status could find itself being squeezed very tightly by all sides. This is even more likely considering the competitors in play here are all very well equipped to not only roll out their Clubhouse alternatives, but features and supports that Clubhouse has yet to get around too.
With Twitter behind the service, Clubhouse would stand a much better chance of competing and rolling out support at a more rapid rate. Not to mention, the company’s history of acquiring and integrating Twitter support would have likely added some extra functionality while helping Twitter to further cement its position within the audio-chat space. Although the existence of Spaces does confuse matters, the speed at which Twitter has been rolling out the feature, coupled with the latest acquisition discussion details, would seem to highlight how much value Twitter now places on audio-only experiences.
Source: Bloomberg News