Apr 5, 2017

Messaging app Yik Yak on its last legs

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

There were several reports yesterday on the fate of Yik Yak, the flailing social messaging app that had been valued at around $400 million in 2014 by VC firms like Sequoia Capital and DCM. First by Fortune, and then by The Verge ― the latter of which mentioned that payments company Square was among the potential suitors.

  • Asset-light: As both stories said, this would be an acqui-hire of what likely amounts to just a small number of engineers. Nobody, including Square, has any interest in the actual Yik Yak IP.
  • Doublebacker: Sequoia partner Roelof Botha is on the board of Square, but the immateriality of this deal (were it to happen) makes it unlikely that it would rise to the level of a board vote. Also worth noting that Yik Yak is a reminder that even the best VCs can blow a deal in the exact same space as their greatest win, since Sequoia's partner here was WhatsApp lead Jim Goetz.
  • Location, location, location: The real appeal of Yik Yak for potential acqui-hirers may be getting to hire an Atlanta-based team (read: cheaper than a San Francisco-based team with the same skill set).

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Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 12,859,834 — Total deaths: 567,123 — Total recoveries — 7,062,085 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 3,297,501— Total deaths: 135,155 — Total recoveries: 1,006,326 — Total tested: 40,282,176 — Map.
  3. States: Florida smashes single-day record for new coronavirus cases with over 15,000 — NYC reports zero coronavirus deaths for first time since pandemic hit.
  4. Public health: Ex-FDA chief projects "apex" of South's coronavirus curve in 2-3 weeks — Coronavirus testing czar: Lockdowns in hotspots "should be on the table"
  5. Education: Betsy DeVos says schools that don't reopen shouldn't get federal funds — Pelosi accuses Trump of "messing with the health of our children."
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Jonathan Swan
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: How the White House is trying to trap leakers

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told several White House staffers he's fed specific nuggets of information to suspected leakers to see if they pass them on to reporters — a trap that would confirm his suspicions. "Meadows told me he was doing that," said one former White House official. "I don't know if it ever worked."

Why it matters: This hunt for leakers has put some White House staffers on edge, with multiple officials telling Axios that Meadows has been unusually vocal about his tactics. So far, he's caught only one person, for a minor leak.

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Jacob Knutson
7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

11 GOP congressional nominees support QAnon conspiracy

Lauren Boebert posing in her restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, on April 24. Photo: Emily Kask/AFP

At least 11 Republican congressional nominees have publicly supported or defended the QAnon conspiracy theory movement or some of its tenets — and more aligned with the movement may still find a way onto ballots this year.

Why it matters: Their progress shows how a fringe online forum built on unsubstantiated claims and flagged as a threat by the FBI is seeking a foothold in the U.S. political mainstream.

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