Twitter Inc Acquires Indian Start-Up ZipDial

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Twitter announced that it had acquired Indian mobile platform developer ZipDial with the expectations of expanding its user base in the region and creating a new stream of advertising revenue. A few days ago, ValueWalk reported about the possible acquisition talks between Twitter and the Indian start-up.

Twitter eyes first-time mobile users in India

Confirming the acquisition, the micro-blogging site said in a blog post that it expects the acquisition to make its services more affordable to people across the world, especially in large developing nations.

In its statement the company wrote, “Over the next several years, billions of people will come online for the first time in countries like Brazil, India and Indonesia,” adding that of those first-time subscribers, many will be first-time mobile users, but the cost of data may not allow them to experience the true power of the internet. And Twitter, along with ZipDial will help make content more accessible to everyone.

Although there were no details about the terms of the acquisition, the company did mention that it has teamed up with ZipDial in the past on previous occasions over the last couple of years. Such occasions include Bollywood film promotions, Indian national elections and get-out-the-vote efforts in the South Asian nation.

Twitter on ZipDial

Indian start-up ZipDial allows users to access content irrespective of the interface. According to Twitter, ZipDial integrates SMS, voice, mobile Web and access to mobile apps to “bridge users from offline to online.”

As per the blog post, ZipDial users can connect with publishers or brands by giving a missed call to a toll-free number, which will then automatically generate return calls, messages or notifications. Twitter mentioned that although American users may find this annoying, these features are designed for and beneficial for those areas where people cannot always connect to data or can only access data through intermittent Wi-Fi networks.

Twitter is looking to earn more advertising revenue by expanding its platform in India by reaching out to more users. Boosting revenue could be the very step needed to enhance the confidence of investors who are concerned about the lack of progress made by the company. Twitter stock has fluctuated wildly over the last year due to rising doubts about its ability to add new users and increase revenue.

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