After Rising To Fame As Hot Audio Social App, Yalla Finds New Role Model In Facebook

We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images It burst onto investor radar screens with comparisons to the Clubhouse chatting app that briefly captured the world’s attention early last year. But highlights from its latest earnings report show that Yalla Group Ltd. (NYSE:YALA) is turning its focus to other areas these days as it tries to build out an integrated social networking platform modeled after much bigger names like Facebook and Tencent. That’s the main message coming from a company that is trying to make a name for itself as a social media heavyweight in emerging markets, starting with its base in the Middle East and more recent moves into Turkey and Latin America. In addition to its stronghold in the Middle East, the company also has a major R&D center in China separate from its headquarters in Dubai. At the same time, Yalla’s other big story is its slowing growth in this year’s first quarter as it faced headwinds created by geopolitical tensions and pandemic-related disruptions. Rising costs and continued investments in R&D also weighed on its results. We’ll start our latest look at this company with some of the progress Yalla is making into areas outside its core voice-related services that…
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