Yope raises $12.3M for algorithm-free private social network
9 reported
Social networking startup Yope has raised $12.3 million in a funding round led by Northzone to build a private social platform without algorithms, ads, or public content. The app focuses on “micro communities” where friends and family interact in small groups, sharing photos, videos, messages, and soon games. Accounts are private by default, and the service plans a subscription-based model for power users rather than advertising. Yope’s co-founder and CEO Bahram Ismailau said the team conducted over 100,000 interviews, aided by AI, to understand how young people use social networks. The company reports nearly 15 million registered users, who collectively share between 10 million and 20 million pieces of content weekly. The funding will be used to develop the product, grow the team of around 35 people, and establish a U.S. office.
What’s reported
Yope raised $12.3 million in a round led by Northzone, with participation from Inovo, Redseed, and Geek Ventures.
Total funding for the company is now $20 million.
The app has no algorithmic feed, no ads, and accounts are private by default.
Yope has nearly 15 million registered users.
Users collectively share between 10 million and 20 million pieces of content weekly (corrected from daily).
More than 50% of users open the app at least five days per week, according to Ismailau.
Around 20% of active users have invited an older family member to join.
The current version of Yope has been in development for roughly two years and is the result of two prior pivots.
The app is a free download on iOS and Android.
Key figures
Bahram Ismailau, co-founder and CEO of Yope (London-based)
Paul Rudkouski, co-founder of Yope
Pär-Jörgen Pärson, partner at Northzone
Sources: TechCrunch
