Which corporation acquired Odeo and Twitter.com from investors in 2006?

Obvious Corporation acquired Odeo and Twitter.com from investors in 2006.

The transaction followed Odeo’s disappointing prospects as a podcasting business. After Apple’s 2005 introduction of podcast support in iTunes intensified competition, Odeo’s leadership redirected employees toward experimental projects. One of those projects was the text-messaging service that became Twitter.

In October 2006, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey, and other Odeo members formed Obvious Corporation. The new company bought Odeo, along with its assets, including Odeo.com and Twitter.com, from the earlier investors and shareholders. This arrangement allowed the team to continue developing Twitter outside the original investment structure.

The deal did not mean Twitter immediately became an independent corporation. Twitter remained associated with Obvious Corporation until it spun off as its own company in April 2007. Google, Square, and X Corp. are frequent distractors: none was the 2006 buyer. Square was co-founded by Jack Dorsey years later, while X Corp. became relevant only after Elon Musk’s 2022 acquisition and rebranding of Twitter.