One of the world's richest unicorns may find a new home.
Slack, the workplace chat system best known for having really good GIF integration, is generating acquisition interest from several companies, including Amazon, Bloomberg reported. The service launched in 2013 and has been adopted all over the world. (Mashable is a Slack customer.)
Slack also gained fame by being one of the most well-funded startups. The company has raised around $540 million total, most recently bringing in $200 million in April 2016.
But it looks like it may be nixing an initial public offering and going straight for an acquisition. We weighed its options.
Amazon
Jeff Bezos’s giant is the one potential suitor named in the Bloomberg report.
Amazon is one of the richest companies in the world, so a $9 billion price tag isn’t far fetched. But why would Amazon, a company known as an e-commerce site with video offerings, want a workplace chat network?
It may have something to do with Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud-based storage system which big enterprise companies and small startups—including Slack—rely on. A reminder that AWS is the most profitable part of Amazon, so this isn't just some pet project.
Within AWS, Amazon released Chime, its own communications and video conferencing service for businesses. Amazon has also been snatching up several smaller startups to build up its cloud system. It acquired meeting productivity startup Do in March, TechCrunch reported.
With AWS as a revenue driver, having Slack as a new subscription offering is another growth driver for what has become Amazon's most lucrative business.
Facebook
The world’s largest social network already has its own Slack copycat. Facebook released Facebook Workplace last year and has already signed up more than 14,000 organizations in 77 languages and in every country, as of April.
Formerly called Facebook At Work, the system is Facebook's way of using its offerings—News Feed, Groups, Messenger—to connect businesses and employees, not just friends and family. Clients include Fortune 500 companies like Starbucks and IBM.
The best selling point for Workplace is its so easy to use because everyone already knows how to use Facebook.
So why Slack? Slack is its biggest competitor in the work chat wars. An acquisition could let them take it down or let it grow, kind of like Facebook owning WhatsApp and Messenger.
Salesforce
CEO Marc Benioff appreciates a good product. He was personally motivated to buy Twitter when they were up on the chopping block last year, according to reports.
Slack is another well-liked consumer product that is actually beloved by businesses, which Salesforce serves.
Salesforce is already a giant in the business world, with its cloud-based software used by thousands of companies for a variety of needs.
It might not have the name recognition of other companies on this list, and that's something Benioff is looking to change. To grow its brand and name, Salesforce does many acquisitions. Buying Slack would mean another tool to offer all Salesforce customers.
Oracle
An old tech giant, with a lot of cash. Buying Slack for Oracle would mean a way to keep the stale company a little younger while bolstering its existing business-oriented product offerings.
Microsoft
This company already has several of its own chat-based platforms, including HipChat, Microsoft Team and Skype, so it's clear that Microsoft sees value of operating and selling a workplace chat system.
But they're current offerings are a little outdated and lacking of GIFs. Slack could add a little more fun, while leveraging Microsoft's strong customer base.
Alphabet / Google
This tech giant already offers a lot of products for businesses, like Drive and Gmail. Many are shedding tears over Google discontinuing Gchat in favor of Google Hangouts.
Perhaps buying Slack is another way to win back consumer love.
Apple
Just because they have so much money—some $260 billion of it.
U.S. Government
Nationalize it. Why not?
