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Airbnb to buy social payments startup Tilt

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CIOL Airbnb to buy social payments startup Tilt

In a bid to become one-stop destination for all the travel related services, Airbnb is acquiring social payments platform Tilt. Apparently, the two companies had been discussing the acquisition for over a month but it has now been confirmed by TechCrunch.

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The Information speculates that Airbnb will likely remove the app from the market, in favour of using Tilt’s payment technology exclusively on the booking website. TechCrunch similarly notes that the app will remain operational “at least for now,” but its future is uncertain.

Reports suggest that the transaction is sort-of an acqui-hire where Airbnb has agreed to acquire all assets, including most of the core team of the company and it is spending most of the money on retaining the team.

“Airbnb and Tilt have a common vision for building community-oriented products that make it easy to bring people together. Tilt’s experience and expertise complement our ongoing efforts to transform the way people travel. By joining forces, we’ll reimagine how groups travel and enhance Trips, our new platform that brings together where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet all in one place,” Joe Zadeh, VP of Product at Airbnb told TechCrunch.

California-based Tilt was founded by James Beshara and Khaled Hussein in 2012 and promotes itself as “the easiest way to collect, fundraise, and sell with your community”. Till date, it had raised nearly $62 million in funding from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, DCM Ventures, Sean Parker, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Y Combinator, among others.

The payments company also debuted a Pro version for businesses to host, brand, and customise their own crowdfunding experience.

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