Slick but unpopular mobile social network app Path has been scooped up by Korean internet company Daum Kakao.
Ever since 2010, the company has attracted a lot of critical praise for its app’s focus on fresh design and a more private social network concept. However, Path never really took off with the general public – at least not here in the west.
Over in parts of Southeast Asia it’s been a different story, with Path doing good business in territories like Indonesia.
That’s why it makes sense that the Path app has been acquired by Daum Kakao, a South Korean internet company, rather than a company like Apple.
The latter was actually rumoured to be on the cards towards the end of 2014, with one anonymous source inside Apple claiming that a deal was virtually done.
But it’s Daum Kakao, a recently formed combination of the companies behind the Daum internet portal and the Kakao Talk chat app, which has closed the deal to take Path and Path Talk off the hands of Path Inc.
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Path founder Dave Morin has written a Medium post on the sale, where he reveals that “We have reached a tipping point on our journey and for Path to truly grow we need more resources and a larger local team that deeply understands Southeast Asian markets.”
The existing Path app and Path Talk will continue operating under a new team at Daum Kakao, while the remaining Path Inc. team will now focus exclusively on its recently launched Kong selfie app.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
