Yubo, a social media and live streaming app designed for Gen Z, has just closed its latest round of fundraising which saw it secure a total of $12.3 million.
Investors included Iris Capital and Idinvest Partners, as well as current backers Alven, Sweet Capital, and Village Global.
The company is going to use the money to hire 35 new staff to help further the product’s technological development and international expansion. Yubo already has sizeable user base in North America and Europe, but is looking to make more of an impact in South America and Asia.
The social network is aiming to create a community that favours interactions and discussions instead of traditional like counts.
CEO and co-founder Sacha Lazimi told Silicon Canals: “Yubo is a response to a fundamental need of Generation Z: socializing and creating friendships in the digital world in the exact same way as in real life. This funding round will let us reach new technological milestones and further our international footprint.
“We are especially proud that such recognized funds have granted us their confidence and backing to support our ambitions: becoming the world-leading social platform, born in France and based on European standards.”
Users tend to be aged between 13 and 25, which caused some concerns in 2017 when the app was dubbed “the Tinder for teens”. It’s believed that the app is a popular place for predators to talk to minors, but Yubo insists it is working hard to remove inappropriate accounts.
It partnered with digital identity service Yoti at the beginning of the year and uses Age Scan technology to prevent children under the age of 13 from signing up.
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