Invi is a text messaging app and interactive messaging platform. The company was founded in 2012 by Iddo Tal and is based in Palo Alto, California. Invi announced a $2 million funding round led by Seven Seas Ventures, with participation from F50, InnoValley, Streamline Ventures and Pre-Angel. The startup said it will use the funding to continue its growth and to develop new products. The announcement did not disclose operating metrics or revenue figures. Invi is an Android-first mobile messaging app that transforms shared links (photos, YouTube, music, etc.) into rich in-chat “virtual widgets” so recipients can view content inside the app. The product integrates other apps on a user’s phone into chat and originally offered private, data/Wi‑Fi messaging to avoid SMS fees. To broaden its potential user base, Invi added the ability to text non-Invi users at regular SMS rates. Launched in October 2012, the app has seen several hundred thousand downloads, with over 50% in the U.S., and is being localized in about a dozen languages. The six-person team plans to use new funding to hire more engineers and port the app to iOS, Windows Phone, and the Chrome web browser. Longer-term monetization plans focus on transactional gifting (presents, cards, money) once a large enough user base is established, while near-term product work includes group chat and landscape mode. Invi is a messaging app that embeds a broad range of media — including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest content — directly within text conversations so users can view and share without leaving the chat. If a link points to a service Invi doesn’t natively integrate with, the app generates an interactive widget preview of the linked website. The app launched on Google Play as an Android‑exclusive release; the founders say they plan to build iOS and Windows versions and to open the platform for third‑party developer integrations. Co‑founders Iddo Tal and Lior Gonnen are graduates of Upwest Labs, a Silicon Valley incubator for Israeli entrepreneurs. The app is free and the company is exploring revenue streams such as referral fees when users purchase content through the app. Invi announced a $750,000 seed round led by Li Ka‑Shing’s Horizons Ventures, with participation from Atlantic Bridge and various angel investors.

Total raised

$6M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2015