Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) wants to buy another startup to tap into the opportunity presented by young social network users. According to Business Insider, Twitter is in talks to add Shots, an app that supports selfie photo sharing, to its ranks. Rumors about plans to buy Shots appear to be reinforced by a recent accidental tweet by Twitter’s CFO, Anthony Noto.
The CFO’s tweet leaked talks to buy an asset or product in the coming month. However, the leak was not received well in some quarters. Some among the investors and the media have accused Noto of behaving like a comedian with his careless tweets.
Shots is backed by pop star Justin Bieber, who led a round of funding for the startup one year ago. The round of funding raised $1.1 million. However, it is not yet clear how much Twitter might bid for the startup. The app only allows in-app selfie and boasts over 3 million active users. Its population is mostly women aged below 24 years, which make it an attractive asset for Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) as the company seeks greater penetration into the youth population.
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is under immense pressure from investors to grow its user numbers. Although the company continues to attract new subscribers, a slowdown in user acquisition has been noted in the recent quarters. The company has about 284 million active monthly users. That figure is dwarfed by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), which boasts more than 1.32 billion active users. Nonetheless, the addition of 3 million from Shots is expected to come as an important boost to Twitter’s user-base.
Besides leading in overall user-count in its main social platform, Facebook has also made strategic investment in young users. The company has Instagram, which is a photo sharing app that is popular among young social media users. It also recently acquired WhatsApp, a messaging app that is also popular among young users. Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) wants to do both in terms of attracting more people to its network and harnessing opportunities in teen-focused apps.
