Twitter has agreed to buy group chat app Sphere, as the social media platform looks to widen and improve its product offerings.
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Founded by Tomas Halgas and Nick D’Aloisio, Sphere has raised about $30 million in the first two rounds.
“We’ve been watching and admiring Twitter’s growing investment in community-building with the release of Communities, Spaces, and features that promote safety,” Sphere said in a statement.
“When we met the team, we were even more impressed by how seriously they are pursuing interest-based community and how much they believe in its potential impact.”
The London-based start-up said it will no longer accept new groups and will wind down its app next month. It will work towards helping existing customers find new homes for their communities.
Sphere’s headcount of 20 will join Twitter to work on Communities, Direct messages and Creators initiative.
“We originally built a marketplace of paid experts from all around the world, connecting them through group chat,” Sphere said. “What we realised is that some of the most helpful and knowledgeable conversations came from groups where members felt a strong sense of belonging to one another.”
The company said its objective is to build a community where every participant feels welcomed and can engage in conversations easily.
Twitter’s decision to acquire Sphere comes as it ramps up measures to expand its product offerings to compete with other social media platforms. It launched Twitter spaces to take on Clubhouse and added multiple features to clamp down on unruly discourse on its platform.
