Job arouses the attention of Genz (and VC) with an Instagram app for private groups

Photo and video applications targeting young people who have social hooks are ten cents these days, so those that show traction with 18-tentysomethers tend to attract the attention of investors looking for Instagram or TIKTOK Next.

In the last example, photo sharing app YesAnd, which allows you to share fixed images of private groups, says it has achieved 2.2 million active users per month and 800,000 users per day, with 30x growth in the past six months. Perhaps in one of the most important standards in what is very The company currently claims 40 % of retaining 40 %-that is, 40 % of users still use the application seven days after installing it.

All this is translated into a wave of activity between VCS.

TECHCRUNCH learned and confirmed that the starting start behind Yop has now raised a seed first round of $ 4.65 million, with a rate of $ 50 million. Goodwateer Capital tops the round, with Inovo VC and Redseed, along with angels who include Jean de la Roshbrkard; Greg Takatnko, who sold an animation company Ai Factory to Snapchat in 2020; Restore the application Participant founder (and A16z Scout) Dima Shevts; And the former researcher at Julge André Takchink.

One sources told Techcrunch: “Yob leads people to some extent.”

The application

YOPE interface is very simple: you can take a picture in the app, or you can choose one of your library and send it to a group chat you joined or created yourself. There, you will also see pictures shared by the other group members, where you can respond to pictures and chat with the rest of the group. Each group also has a wall, a feature in which Yop uses machine learning to cut and connect images, with combining combined images in an endless combination.

To enhance participation, Yop is inspired by other social networks, whether in good or bad ways. The lock screen enables you to see the latest collection pictures. The line feature encourages users to continue publishing. The ReCAP feature is playing a shared images display – similar to the Google Photo app and the Apple Photo app. On board the plane for the first time, the application cancels the subscription from any of this confusing, but it is, but it is He is maybe.

The company has built an ambassador program for awareness and installations as well, with batches to energy users who publish the application on other platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram. Yub said that the videos created by these ambassadors have more than 56 million views. The company refused to determine the number of installations on these videos, but in general is about 70-80 % of its users who come through others who call them to the application.

Bahram Islawo, CEO of Yob and the co -founder, said that Yob wants to reach 50 million active users monthly by next year.

It also plans for more features. The company said it has not launched the video yet, but this is in the works. Another is a daily check -in -check operator that prompted users to check their collection, watch the photos they published, and respond to them. The company also wants to make the walls more interactive by allowing users to add stickers, paint graphics drawings, enlargement/exit to see days, months or years, and adding new formats such as syndrome images with a temporary screen.

He also wants to launch a family collection format to extend the use of the application beyond the base of the Gen-Z’s basic user: currently, the average age of users on the application is 18.

While focusing on bringing more users, Yop is also considering revenue ideas, starting with subscription plans.

Rough

May be Yope, the application, has launched somewhat recently, but Yop’s starting start is much longer, and he didn’t do it at first. Founded in 2021 by Ismailuu and Paul Rudkouski – who studied together at Belarus State University in Minsk – the team’s work for years in tampering and searching for a blow.

One of the apps, Salo, was an application for social media chat that described itself as “the next generation to discuss things.” (Originally, the SALO starting start after that.) The duo also built a multi -camera app (like Berial). In 2023, it was identified to a product for recording non -simultaneous video podcast. Then, in September 2024, the company finally made another Yope to create.

The startup has a scattered team in different locations, including New York, Miami, Racbon and London (where they have an office). The company said it plans to open a future research and development center and explore sites.

Yop’s primary hook appears to be a place to share photos and chats in special groups filling a market gap.

Yes, you can create groups in WhatsApp and Snapchat. Yes, some have created a special group accounts on Instagram. But sharing photos, with a little chat about it, is not really the main use of any of these huge applications.

What’s more, it seems that Instagram has really abandoned the idea: The other sideIt was the private Instagram attempt to build special groups, to stop Just five months after its launch.

“Instagram and Snapchat are platforms for coordinated content. ISMAILAU said:“ While Gen Z users take a lot of photos, only 1 % of them are shared. ”He said that Yob’s concentration was completely different from Snapchat and Instagram. He added that it specifically related to sharing“ content is not Armed. ”

In fact, there were dozens of others who tried to build companies about the idea of ​​participating in private groups. The modern -backed capital efforts include the subsidized capital Reactionary And Marisa Mayer sunriseBut efforts extend along the way to Path in 2010.

The truth is that none of them really stuck. Is this an indication that private groups may not be a big and virtual work? Yop believes that time has come to give the concept another rift.

“In goodwater, we invest in the specific consumer applications of the categories, and Yober is a major example of an important new social behavior,” said the founder of Gowateer and an administrative partner, Chi-Hea Chie, for Techcrunch in an e-mail. “Job is easy for everyone to share their daily life with close friends. Their explosive growth talks about volumes about the strength of their product and their team.”

Growth looks really good for Yope, but the evidence will be how it can keep it. Berial (another application tried to build a special group) A hot year or two yearsEven the inspiration of reproduction from the definition, before growth Slow down. (This application was in the end acquired By App and Games Company Voodoo))

The team hopes, after a lot of mistakes in the category – and in its own efforts to build large applications – the successful Yop will become a long -standing.

“They are working hard,” one of VC, who does not support the startup.