Userplane, instant messaging company, snapped up by AOL

August 14, 2006 | Matt Marshall

AOL just said it has acquired Userplane, a five-year old start-up that made chat and instant messaging tools to be used within Web sites. Why should you care? Well, it is another example of a company that launched a product, kept a shoestring budget and never raised a penny, according to Silicon Valley angel investor Jeff Clavier, who advised the company but who never invested.

Just when the Los Angeles-based company started getting serious traction (several million people are using it at more than 100,000 Web sites, including MySpace), it began thinking about raising venture money go into rocket mode, but then AOL came along and scooped it up. The amount was undisclosed.

Userplane was built with Flash, and so is easily integrated into most sites.

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About the Author, Matt Marshall

Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/06/so-cal-companies-get-feedback-from-venturebeat-and-las-newest-start-up-specialists-science/ So Cal. companies: Get feedback from VentureBeat and LA’s newest start-up specialists, Science | VentureBeat

[...] where he managed the downsizing of that company, and sale to SpecificMedia. He also led Userplane on a shoestring, from startup to acquisition by AOL, and then started Tsavo Media, which was acquired by Cyberplex for $75M. He’s invested in [...]
http://lincing.com/socal-companies-get-feedback-from-venturebeat-las-newest-startup-specialists-science.html SoCal companies, get feedback from VentureBeat & LA’s newest startup specialists, Science : lincing.com

[...] where he managed the downsizing of that company and its sale to SpecificMedia. He also led Userplane from startup to acquisition by AOL and then started Tsavo Media, which was acquired by Cyberplex for $75M. Altogether, [...]
http://www.socialnetworkbackgroundcheck.com/socal-companies-get-feedback-from-venturebeat-la%e2%80%99s-newest-startup-specialists-science/ SoCal companies, get feedback from VentureBeat & LA’s newest startup specialists, Science | Social Network Background Check

[...] where he managed the downsizing of that company and its sale to SpecificMedia. He also led Userplane from startup to acquisition by AOL and then started Tsavo Media, which was acquired by Cyberplex for $75M. Altogether, [...]