Circa is a mobile news-delivery app that lets users follow ongoing stories as bite-sized updates rather than reading full new articles each time. The company launched its app three months prior to the article and recently shipped version 1.1 with design and usability tweaks. Circa employs seven non-editorial staffers plus 12 people who manage current news categories. The team is exploring new verticals such as Business and Sports and has been approached by large news outlets interested in adopting its format. Downloads since launch are reported in the "few hundred thousands." With the new funding, Circa plans to continue hiring and refining its mobile-first news format aimed at readers who prefer short, rapid updates. Circa is a five-person mobile news startup founded by Ben Huh and Matt Galligan. The team says it is building a new mobile experience aimed at solving information overload and making it easier to consume and stay engaged with stories. Company leaders say Circa is not a pure news aggregation play like Digg or Techmeme and are keeping many product details under wraps. The idea grew out of Ben Huh’s "Moby Dick project," which sought a solution to excessive information. Circa has assembled an advisory cast including former Digg CEO Jay Adelson. It recently raised $750K in seed funding and plans to use the capital to hire more engineers to focus on the mobile product.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2013