Silicon Valley perks up its ears for buzzy audio chat startup

Mohnot, a fintech investor based in San Francisco, listening to a conversation on Clubhouse, an invitation-only app that has been the talk of the Silicon Valley for a few weeks. Clubhouse has won devotees even though it remains in a ‘beta’ test mode and only has some 1,500 users as it tunes its platform for the masses. — AFP/Handout/Amrit Dhir

SAN FRANCISCO: It's a secret, almost. But Silicon Valley is buzzing over a new audio-chat social network which is struggling to keep people out even as it hits an eye-popping value.

The invitation-only platform called Clubhouse lets people drop in on conversations ranging from weighty topics such as artificial intelligence to light-hearted trivia contests.