V i v e k 🐻 (@VivekxK): 1/5 Seems like the Giphy deal is strategically great for FB and probably gave Giphy the lifeline it needed.

FB gets valuable intelligence - Giphy is embedded into many top apps and the SDK requires disclosing user deviceIDs.

What? You thought they bought it for the gifs?

V i v e k 🐻 (@VivekxK): 2/ 5 Looks like Giphy last raised 72M in 2016 at $600M.

This deal at $400M is likely not a great outcome for them.

V i v e k 🐻 (@VivekxK): 3/5 Which reminds me. Anyone remember Phhhoto?

No of course not.

FB saw Phhhoto quickly rising through their platform analytics, quickly cut off API access and cloned it in what's now the Boomerang effect on Instagram.

V i v e k 🐻 (@VivekxK): 4/5 Giphy extends FB's visibility into 3rd party applications across the internet (a capability they've been building out through various acquisitions like Onavo VPN, etc)

With Onavo, FB saw WhatsApp's message rates climbing at 2x Messenger's rate. They acquired soon after.

V i v e k 🐻 (@VivekxK): 5/5 With this type of tech, FB can keep a watchful eye on what's picking up buzz and gives them ample time to react / understand what's going on at the ecosystem level.

Bonus perk that this activity looks completely innocuous from the outside (politically, to regulators, etc).