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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Slack is buying, and shutting down, HipChat and Stride [techcrunch.com]

HipChat, the workplace chat app that held the throne before Slack was Slack, is being discontinued. Also being discontinued is Atlassian's own would-be HipChat replacement, Stride.

News of the discontinuation comes first not from Atlassian, but instead from a somewhat surprising source: Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield. In a series of tweets, Butterfield says that Slack is purchasing the IP for both products to "better support those users who choose to migrate" to its platform.

Butterfield also notes that Atlassian will be making a "small but symbolically important investment" in Slack — likely a good move, given that rumors of a Slack IPO have been swirling (though Butterfield says it won't happen this year [marketwatch.com]). Getting a pre-IPO investment into Slack might end up paying off for Atlassian better than trying to continue competing.

Slack announcement [slackhq.com]. Also at Bloomberg [bloomberg.com], Android Police [androidpolice.com], and Wired [wired.com].

Related: Why I Hate Slack and You Should Too [soylentnews.org]
Slack Valued at Over $5 Billion [soylentnews.org]

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