UPDATED 02:12 EDT / MAY 29 2015

NEWS

Path sells its social networking apps to Daum Kakao

Path, Inc. will be looking for a new name shortly, with the startup having sold its core Path Classic and Path talk apps to South Korean internet company Daum Kakao Corp.

The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.

Founded in 2010 by former Apple and Facebook Inc. employee Dave Morin, Path was pitched as a more exclusive alternative to Facebook, with users being limited to only having 150 friends, forcing them to be more picky about who they networked with.

On its initial release, it found some popularity in the United States, and at one stage it was rumored that Google had offered to buy the company for $100 million.

That popularity didn’t last though, however it did becoming highly popular in one place, Indonesia, which with a population of 250 million people complete with an emerging middle class makes it an appealing market to be in, but for the right company.

The other product in the deal, Path Talk, was launched in June 2014  and offered users the ability to communicate easily with friends, family, and co-workers. In September Path Talk users were given the additional ability to message local businesses to make appointments, reservations or to inquire about additional information.

It’s not clear from reports whether Path Talk ever took off or grew a significant audience.

“Nearly everything you have come to love about Path and Path Talk will remain as is” Morin assured users. “Daum Kakao’s extensive experience in mobile innovation along with a network of millions of users will ensure continued and reliable service.”

“Future product updates will continue to improve connecting, sharing and communicating in the Path community.”

Path, the company, not the app will continue on however, be it with the sole product of Kong, an application described as a “selfie gif maker” that lets users, not surprising, make gifts from their selfies and share them to social networks.

It’s not clear whether funds from the sale will be reinvested in Path (the company) or investors may see money returned.

Prior to the acquisition of its core product, Path had raised $77 million over 5 rounds from investors including First Round, Index Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Insight Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers,Greylock Partners and others.

Image credit: joi/Flickr/CC by 2.0

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