Bebo

San Francisco, United States Founded: 2005 • Age: 21 yrs Acquired By Twitch
Web Social Networking portal social app developer

About Bebo

Bebo is a Telecommunications company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2005, and was acquired by Twitch in June 2019. Web Social Networking portal social app developer. Bebo has raised $15 million across 1 funding round from investors including Twitch, AOL and Balderton Capital. Its focus areas include Consumer, Communication Apps, Messaging and Generic. Its legal entity is BEBO, INC. Its competitors include Kik, Snapchat and MessageMe; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.

Company details

Bebo was a social networking website launched in 2005. The company announced the re-launch of Bebo as hashtag-filled messaging app in early 2014. Its now an app that lets users chat with their friends using a customisable cartoon character. Bebo was founded by Michael and Xochi Birch in January 2005. In early 2008 Bebo had over 34 million registered users and 7 billion monthly page views. The site was purchased by AOL on March 13, 2008 for 850 million. On June 16, 2010, AOL sold Bebo to hedge fund operators Criterion Capital Partners. On July 1, 2013, Michael and Xochi Birch, the original founders, purchased the social network back from Criterion Capital Partners (CCP) for 1 million.

  • Headquarters San Francisco, United States
  • Stage Acquired
  • Sectors
    Telecommunications
  • Website bebo.com
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook
  • Acquired by Twitch (Jun 2019)
  • Legal Name Bebo, Inc
Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $15M (USD)

    in 1 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $15M (USD), Series A

    May 2006

  • Investors
    Twitch

    & 3 more

  • Acquired by
    Twitch

    & 2 more

    (Jun 2019)

Funding Insights of Bebo

Bebo has successfully raised a total of $15M through 1 strategic funding round. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $15 million completed in May 2006. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $15M
  • Total Rounds 1
  • Last Round Series A β€” $15M
  • First Round $15M

    (May 2006)

  • Investors Count 1

All 1 funding rounds of Bebo with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
May 2006$15MSeries A–Balderton Capital
–
Valuation history

4 investors in total: 4 institutional.

Investors in Bebo

Bebo has secured backing from 4 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Twitch, AOL and Balderton Capital.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
Multistage venture capital investments are focused on technology sectors.
2000balderton.comLondon, United Kingdom
ESports social video streaming platform
2006twitch.tvSan Francisco, United States
criterioncp.com
Online news, entertainment, and financial content is delivered.
1983aol.comNew York, United States
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Investor details for Bebo

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Timeline of Bebo

5 dated milestones of Bebo across 14 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Bebo is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $15.0M.
  3. Exit Acquired by AOL.
  4. Exit Acquired by Criterion Capital Partners.
  5. Exit Acquired by Twitch.

Competitors of Bebo

Bebo has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Kik, Snapchat and MessageMe.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
kik.com2009Santa Monica, United States$166.39M
Multimedia messaging is enabled by Kik for mobile users.
snapchat.com2011Los Angeles, United States$2.62B97
Multimedia messaging application for ephemeral photos and videos is provided.
messageme.com2012San Francisco, United States$13.4M
An engaging communication platform is provided for users worldwide.
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Detailed competitors of Bebo

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Web traffic of Bebo

The website of Bebo (bebo.com) receives about 1.8K visits a month.

  • Monthly visits
    1.8K

    ▲ 357.3% vs previous month

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with Bebo. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
myspace.com
100%
1.9M#28,790View details
hi5.com
100%
2.3M#12,817View details
facebook.com
100%
12.1B#3View details
badoo.com
100%
30.5M#1,226View details
friendster.com
98%
72.8K#548,705View details
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’β€’.comβ€’β€’%β€’.β€’M#‒‒‒‒‒–
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All 11 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Bebo

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  • 11 similar websites
  • Audience overlap
  • Engagement analytics
  • Traffic by brand

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Top companies in Communication Apps

3 companies that operate in the same segment as Bebo (Communication Apps) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Family and friends are connected through location-sharing mobile app.
2008San Francisco, California, United StatesUSD 89.74 MUSD 489.48 M569
Live-streaming platform for user connections and content monetization is provided.
2009Mountain View, California, United StatesUSD 373.44 M842
Secure private messaging and multimedia sharing are facilitated worldwide.
2009Menlo Park, California, United StatesUSD 58.25 MUSD 19.89 M6,121
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Related news about Bebo

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Frequently Asked Questions about Bebo

Bebo was founded in 2005 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.

Bebo is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.

Bebo is a funded company, having raised a total of $15M across 1 funding round to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $15M, raised on May 2006.

Bebo was a social networking website launched in 2005. The company announced the re-launch of Bebo as hashtag-filled messaging app in early 2014. Its now an app that lets users chat with their friends using a customisable cartoon character. Bebo was founded by Michael and Xochi Birch in January 2005. In early 2008 Bebo had over 34 million registered users and 7 billion monthly page views. The site was purchased by AOL on March 13, 2008 for 850 million. On June 16, 2010, AOL sold Bebo to hedge fund operators Criterion Capital Partners. On July 1, 2013, Michael and Xochi Birch, the original founders, purchased the social network back from Criterion Capital Partners (CCP) for 1 million.

Bebo's top competitors include Snapchat, Kik and MessageMe.

Bebo has 4 investors. Key investors include Twitch, AOL, Balderton Capital, and Criterion Capital Partners.

Bebo operates through Bebo, Inc.

Yes. Bebo was acquired by Twitch in June 2019.

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