Google acquires Korean blogging startup TNC
Chang-Won Kim, co-CEO of Tatter and Company (TNC), says Google has acquired the company, which he likens to "Korea's Automattic," the San Francisco-based blog-software startup founded by Matt Mullenweg. VentureBeat reports TNC investors include a SoftBank venture-capital fund. In a post to his personal blog, Chang opines that Google acquired TNC, its first purchase of a Korean company, because "Google has a market share that can only be described as 'minor' in Korea." He goes on to explain why:
Korean web users mostly use Yahoo-like "portal" services and never really venture out. Part of the reason for that is, Korean portals are so good. But portals have built too thick of a comfort zone for Korean web users, leaving little room for startup innovations.