Bebo was founded in 2005 in San Francisco and aimed to compete with Facebook as a social networking platform. It gained popularity in the UK among middle schoolers. The founders sold Bebo to AOL in 2008 for $850 million, though it struggled under AOL's ownership due lack of funding. AOL sold Bebo at a loss of $570 million in 2010 to a hedge fund, and its future remains uncertain despite redesigns.