The team behind Fondu, an app which resembled Yelp and focused on "bite-sized local reviews," has joined Airbnb.
After making a splash at TechCrunch Disrupt, the company raised $575,000 and then pivoted its product last May.
But now it looks like they'll be working on Airbnb projects. The Fondu service will shut down on November 1. That's a typical part of so-called "acquire-hire" deals where a larger company pays off a startup's investors and hires the team, but doesn't take on the products they were working on.
It's not a bad exit for 24-year-old cofounder and CEO, Gauri Manglik. The amount wasn't disclosed, but it's safe to assume Manglik's team got a decent chunk of stock. And with Airbnb raising a fresh new round at a rumored $2 billion to $3 billion valuation, there are worse places the young team could have landed.
"With their product’s roots in layering discovery and community for trusted recommendations, there is a natural synergy between Fondu and Airbnb," an Airbnb spokesperson tells AllThingsD. "We believe this will make for a better host and guest experience for our growing community.”
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