Yubo is a social app focused on users under 25 that centers on live-streaming rooms, friend discovery through swiping, and small-group interactions rather than follower-based feeds. The app has grown to more than 40 million registered users (up from 25 million in December) with most users in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and France. Yubo monetizes through in-app purchases and subscriptions rather than ads and expects to generate $20 million in revenue this year, roughly double its 2019 revenue. Engagement has risen sharply: hours spent in live rooms are up 400% year-over-year, rooms average 5–10 people, and 95% of rooms consist only of streamers. The company emphasizes safety and moderation—one-third of its investments go to safety, it performs identity checks at signup, analyzes content semantically and visually, employs in-house safety experts plus contractors, and supports 36 languages. Product plans include building recommendation algorithms, a YouTube integration to consume content in rooms, and a Snap Camera Kit partnership to create AR lenses; the company will also expand its team and open a New York office. Yubo builds a social media app for young people under 25 focused on helping teenagers meet new people and form friendships rather than chasing likes and followers. The app enables users to start conversations and create live video streams that act as micro-communities, combining video and live chat. Since 2015, Yubo users have sent 10 billion messages, started 30 million live video streams and generated 2 billion friendships; the company has attracted 25 million users and sees tens of thousands of daily signups. Yubo began monetizing in October 2018 with in-app purchases and generated $10 million in revenue in 2019. Planned product additions include screensharing and a Yubo Web launch (targeted in 2020) to expand beyond smartphones and enable use cases such as video game live streaming. The company is also focused on safety improvements — partnering with Yoti for age verification, adding customizable word blocklists, expanding its moderation team, and convening a safety board.

Total raised

$60M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Nov 2020