Audio App Clubhouse Still Has ‘Years of Cash’ as It Shifts Strategies

Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison said the company was moving away from broadcasting to more intimate chatrooms. 

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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Clubhouse, the audio-only social app that surged in popularity early in the pandemic, is focusing more on smaller, private groups, its chief executive officer Paul Davison said Thursday.

While Clubhouse initially grabbed headlines in 2020 with rapid-fire venture fundraising and appearances from celebrities such as Elon Musk and Oprah Winfrey, the startup failed to maintain its rapid growth. Clubhouse laid off employees this summer and has experimented with shifting its strategy. Now, the once-hot app for public speaking is focused on cultivating online communities that are more intimate, Davison said at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Thursday.