YIK YAKING UP CASH: Anonymous messaging app Yik Yak appears to have passed its heyday. Once valued at $400 million, the company has sold its engineering team to Square for $1 million.
Started in 2013, Yik Yak quickly grew wildly popular among college and high school students—plus investors, who pumped $75 million of venture capital in the company. But as the platform grew, so did the app’s reputation as being a cesspool for cyberbullying and harassment. The Atlanta-based company has so far been unable to find successful solutions on how to deal with its abusers, leading to a slow decline in Yik Yak users.
Bloomberg reports that that five to ten of its engineers will be heading to Square under the deal. It’s unclear what the future of the app will be.