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b00ty4breakfasttoday at 3:11 AM4 repliesview on HN

Pretty sure they bought Insta and Whatsapp. I mean, that's not nothing, buying a successful business and keeping it successful for over a decade. But neither Zuck nor Meta made those platforms; they were both established successes in their own right before acquisition.


Replies

stephbooktoday at 3:54 AM

Only The Zuck saw the value though. Why didn't MS, Amazon or Google buy insta? Or some Softbank vehicle?

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matwoodtoday at 6:42 AM

> keeping it successful

I’m no Zuck fan, but he’s done much more than keep them successful, they have grown a lot.

I remember everyone making fun of him for overpaying for IG and WA. Now both in hindsight look like amazing acquisitions.

hn_throwaway_99today at 4:09 AM

This is the case with most tech companies. Google bought Android, YouTube, DoubleClick, Maps, etc. etc.

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disgruntledphd2today at 7:36 AM

Instagram had around 10mn users at acquisition, so they might not have gotten to where they are without FB. Whatsapp was a successful product that didn't make any money.