When Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion, it only had 13 employees…

knowledge-baseOct 7, 2025By Team M37Labs

When Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion, it only had 13 employees. WhatsApp had 55 when it exited for $19 billion. YouTube had only 65 when Google bought it for $1.65 billion. These weren’t anomalies. They were the early signs of a recurring pattern in which small, focused teams build disproportionately valuable companies.

WIRED

Exclusive: Facebook Deal Nets Instagram CEO $400 Million

Facebook’s acquisition of the immensely popular photo-sharing service Instagram for $1 billion is far and away the largest acquisition in the history of the world’s largest social network. But for CEO Kevin Systrom and company, it’s a windfall payday like none other.

substack.com

Forbes

At $19 Billion, WhatsApp Is Worth More Than Under Armour, Xerox And These Other Storied Brands

The $19 billion that Facebook has committed to purchasing WhatsApp is basically unprecedented. It’s an absolutely mind-blowing sum of money to pay to a five year-old company with just 55 employees. It works out to about $350 million per employee. After that sinks in, consider this: A small team of mobile [...]

substack.com

TechCrunch

Google Has Acquired YouTube | TechCrunch

Moments ago the deal was confirmed. In their largest acquisition to date, Google has acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in an all stock transaction. Both

substack.com