Quepasa Corporation
Quepasa Corporation is a company.
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Updated: ·
Financial History
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Leadership Team
Key people at Quepasa Corporation.
Quepasa Corporation is a company.
Key people at Quepasa Corporation.
Quepasa Corporation was a US-based social media technology company focused on Latino audiences worldwide, operating platforms like Quepasa.com—a bilingual English/Spanish social network—and myYearbook, a teen social network it acquired in 2011.[1][2][3] It served bicultural users in the US, Mexico, Latin America, and beyond through social networking, games via Quepasa Games, and advertising solutions like Quepasa Contests, targeting the growing Hispanic internet demographic with features in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.[1][3] The company solved connectivity challenges for Latino users by providing culturally relevant social discovery, games, and monetization through ads and virtual currency, peaking at over 30 million users before rebranding to MeetMe in 2012 to emphasize global social discovery.[1][3]
Quepasa Corporation was founded in 1997 by Jeffrey Peterson and co-founder Michael Silberman in Phoenix, Arizona, initially as a Hispanic web portal pioneering "Internet en Español."[1][2] It quickly raised $20 million from investors including Telemundo and Jerry Colangelo, went public on Nasdaq in June 1999 with shares at $12 (reaching a $350 million peak valuation), and added high-profile figures like Gloria Estefan as spokesperson and investor.[1][2] Early traction included partnerships like Inktomi for search and Critical Path for email; however, internal drama ensued when new CEO Gary Trujillo fired Peterson in 1999 over a competing venture accusation.[1] By 2002, original management regained control, acquiring Vayala for proprietary search tech, shifting focus to performance-based marketing for Latinos; headquarters later moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, and New Hope, Pennsylvania.[1][2][3]
Quepasa rode the late-1990s dot-com wave targeting the underserved bilingual Hispanic market, capitalizing on rising Latino internet adoption in the US and Latin America amid growing digital interconnectivity.[1][2] Its timing aligned with the explosion of Spanish-language online content and social media's shift from portals to networks, influencing the ecosystem by proving viability of niche demographic platforms—pioneering social discovery before Facebook's dominance.[1][3] Market forces like Telemundo partnerships and Nasdaq IPO fueled early hype, while the 2011 myYearbook merger and 2012 MeetMe rebrand positioned it amid mobile social trends, accelerating growth in Latin America and contributing to the evolution of apps like MeetMe, LOVOO, Skout, and Tagged under The Meet Group.[3][6]
Quepasa Corporation no longer exists independently, having rebranded to MeetMe in 2012 and evolved into The Meet Group, a leader in social discovery apps with millions of daily active users.[3][6] Its legacy endures in modern mobile-first platforms emphasizing global, culturally attuned connections. Future influence lies in The Meet Group's trajectory—shaping live streaming, dating, and social entertainment amid AI-driven personalization and international expansion trends—building on Quepasa's foundational bet on Latino digital growth.[3][6] This early pioneer underscores how demographic-specific innovation can scale into broader tech ecosystems.
Key people at Quepasa Corporation.