That he was asked to speak to the committee in advance of the hearing at all, however, shows Smith's influence in Washington, DC. The report doesn't provide additional context about the conversation, including how Smith and the committee arrived at the topic of social media users, or why Smith may have been asked to speak on it. For Microsoft's part, its paid Office 365 suite crossed the 200 million MAU mark as of late October. While the excerpt doesn't show that Smith named any names, his comments evoke major past acquisitions like Google's purchase of YouTube, or Facebook's landmark Instagram buy.įacebook, by point of reference, has 2.6 billion monthly active users at last count, while Google's G Suite of productivity apps alone has over 2 billion MAU, though the number encompasses both its free and paid users. Historically, I think regulators were slow to notice that issue." If you see a company acquire another company that's in the same product market and is on the path to reach 100 million MAU, that's more likely to raise a competitive concern. "At that level a company becomes a force unto themselves. "There's something magical about 100 million active monthly users (MAU) in the United States," Smith said, according to the report. The tipping point, Smith said, is 100 million monthly active users, a metric that measures how many individual users visit a site or use an app each month. And then people assume you'll find a way to turn that usage into a business model that will produce revenue." "You just need an idea that will get a lot of users. "You don't always need to have a proven business model to attract capital," Smith said, according to the report. In an except from the discussion published in the report, Smith told the committee that growing a large network of users can be more important than a business model when attracting venture capital - evoking the ways that Facebook and Google, in particular, grew into the massively profitable enterprises they are today. However, a blockbuster 449-page report released by the House antitrust committee this week gives a glimpse into the scope of the conversation. Microsoft in August told Business Insider that Smith was asked to share the company's previous experiences with antitrust scrutiny, though the details of what was discussed were largely not made public. A re you a Microsoft employee? Contact this reporter via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344- 8242) or email Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.īefore Congress grilled the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook in a hearing this summer about whether their business practices harm competition, members of the House antitrust subcommittee invited Microsoft president Brad Smith for a private meeting in advance."At that level a company becomes a force unto themselves." "There's something magical about 100 million active monthly users (MAU) in the United States," Smith said, according to the report. His comments to the committee have not been made public, except for an excerpt released Tuesday in a 449-page report in which Smith shared thoughts on how growing a large network of users can be more important for social media platforms than a business model when attracting venture capital.Microsoft told Business Insider in August that Smith was asked to share Microsoft's experience as a company that had faced anti-trust scrutiny in the past.Microsoft president Brad Smith was invited to speak to a House antitrust subcommittee weeks before Congress grilled CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google about alleged anticompetitive practices.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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