Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)‘s acquisition of Twitch Interactive is a great fit for the company, Ethan Kurzweil, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, told CNBC in an interview.
The comment about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) comes after Twitch Interactive CEO Emmett Shear confirmed on Monday that his company has been acquired by the internet commerce giant.
“I think it is a great fit for Amazon. If you think about it, Amazon is committed to allowing Twitch to run independently and leaving the team that is in place there to run the company. That’s really important,” Kurzweil said.
He added that the team at Twitch Interactive has built a large community of engaged and passionate fans around sharing game content. This is something that not a lot of people have done, he said.
Bessemer Venture Partners became the largest shareholder of Twitch Interactive after a $15 million first investment round last September 2012. According to The Wall Street Journal, the venture funding firm, as well as other investors like Y Combinator, is expected to profit very well after the Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) acquisition of the video game streaming company.
Meanwhile, Kurzweil added in his interview that what Twitch Interactive is doing is not far out of the ordinary. He said that what they have done is to take the experience of watching another person play a video game in a living room and migrate it to the online world.
Kurzweil’s comment that the Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) acquisition leaves Twitch Interactive independent was echoed by comments made by the company’s CEO, Emmett Shear, in his letter to employees and users.
“Today, I’m pleased to announce we’ve been acquired by Amazon. We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster. We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch,” Shear wrote.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) investors includes Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management which reported about 2.47 million shares in the electronic commerce giant by the end of the first half of 2014.
Disclosure: None
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