Yik Yak is an Atlanta, GA-based anonymous messaging app founded by Tyler Droll. The app lets users send and receive anonymous messages based on their location with no sign-in and no profile, enabling local, real-time conversations. The company reportedly completed a third funding round of $62M led by Sequoia Capital. Yik Yak previously raised $10M in June 2014 from Azure Capital Partners, Renren Inc. and Tim Draper, and $1.5M in April 2014 from Vaizra Investments, DCM, Azure Capital Partners and other angels. The latest round was said to value the startup at roughly $300M–$400M. Yik Yak intends to use the new funds to continue to grow and add new features. Yik Yak is a location-based anonymous messaging app that lets users post and read geographically targeted anonymous messages, with college campuses as its initial growth focus. The app was founded by Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll following their experience at Furman University, and the founders emphasize geolocation as the core differentiator versus other anonymous networks. Yik Yak has seen viral adoption on campuses and reported traction expanding into cities such as New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Seattle and Washington. The company has faced moderation challenges tied to anonymous sharing among high school students. Yik Yak is not focused on monetization yet and is using new financing to develop infrastructure ahead of the next school year. The product roadmap centers on scaling its geolocation-driven feed and supporting growing demand from users moving beyond campuses. Yik Yak is an Atlanta, GA-based anonymous social messaging app focused on hyper-local community building, available on iOS and Android. The app lets users connect anonymously with others within a 1.5-mile radius and deliver timely content to local areas. It was founded five months prior to the report by Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll and is used at over 100 universities across the US and in other event-driven areas. The company raised $1.5M in funding to enhance current app features and support expansion efforts. Backers include Vaizra Investments, DCM, Azure Capital Partners and other angel investors. Yik Yak intends to use the funds to improve features and expand both in the US and overseas. Yik Yak is an anonymous, location-based messaging app launched by Furman University students Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington that lets users post to nearby campus audiences. Posts are visible within a five-mile radius and can be targeted to the closest 100, 250, or 500 users; users can pay to expand reach (1,000 for $0.99, 2,500 for $1.99, 10,000 for $5). The app has grown quickly, reaching 100,000 monthly active users within three months and generating more than 15,000 messages per day. Yik Yak is focused on expanding to more colleges on the East Coast (plans include Penn State, Boston University, NYU) and sees revenue opportunities from local deals, discounts and ads, though current focus remains on user growth. The company faces moderation and bullying concerns on some campuses and uses community flagging (two or more flags deletes a post) and an email report workflow as its current controls while it works on technical fixes. Financially, the company has at least one early external financing: a $20,000 convertible note from Atlanta Capital, and it currently monetizes via in-app purchases to expand message reach.

Total raised

$94M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Nov 2014