Social Startups

XSight is a multiplayer augmented reality platform that connects metaverse experiences to real-world scenarios such as coffee runs, conferences, and nightlife. Users play location-based AR adventures with friends, message nearby people via hologram avatars, and collect virtual tokens, items, and NFTs redeemable for real-world goods.

1 investor

CanOfSoup is a consumer platform hosting user-generated AI character chatbots for interactive roleplay and conversation, organized by fandom tags and creators. The content shown consists of fan-made character chats contributed by individual users.

1 investor

Yeeps is a free-to-play social hide-and-seek VR game for Meta Quest headsets, where players build maps, play together, and make friends in an open-ended multiplayer world. It is developed by Trass Games and includes safety and moderation tools aimed at a community that includes younger players.

1 investor

YKB is an iPhone app for sports fans to track their sports knowledge, compete with friends, and keep a record of their predictions. It is distributed through the App Store under the Sports category.

1 investor

Yoni Circle runs live, guided video "Storytelling Circles" where small groups of up to six women connect and share personal stories in a judgment-free setting. The platform includes story meditations and structured sessions aimed at building community and emotional wellbeing across a global membership.

1 investor

Cluj for Youth runs youth-focused community initiatives in Romania's Cluj county, including a project called Cluj Youth Mapping aimed at identifying and connecting the area's youth community.

1 investor

YSBnow is a digital media platform for Gen Z girls (ages 13-18) featuring uplifting video and editorial content focused on positivity and confidence rather than celebrity gossip or drama.

1 investor

YWCA Utah is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. It provides educational programs, employment classes, youth services, domestic violence support, residential services, and early childhood education to women and families in Utah since 1906.

1 investor

Zai is a small team building consumer AI products designed to make everyday life more playful and interactive rather than just saving time. Its offerings turn personal photos and shared moments into interactive, shared experiences.

1 investor

ZERO is a decentralized, privacy-focused messaging and social platform, offering products including a messenger, social app, and digital identity (Zero ID) built on a crypto protocol with its own token. It targets users seeking private, self-sovereign communication across mobile and desktop platforms.

1 investor

Zfluence is a community platform for Gen Z members to share opinions on brands and trends, take a creator readiness program, participate in surveys, and test products before launch in exchange for honest feedback and ratings. It is operated by Her Campus Media and focuses on connecting young consumers with brands for research and product sampling.

1 investor

Zip Phone offered a voice communication app, positioned as a "WhatsApp for voice." The company was part of Y Combinator's Summer 2014 batch and was later acquired.

1 investor

Zipio operated a deal search service, aggregating deals for consumers to find.

1 investor

Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary where users submit and browse definitions for slang words and phrases.

1 investor

ZOOP is a social media app for creators, fans, and brands that shares advertising revenue with its community, rewarding creators and fans based on engagement. It offers features such as 1-to-1 creator messaging, an in-app Creator Shop, interest-based community channels, and first-party data analytics.

1 investor

Zyper is a machine learning-based community marketing tool that helps brands identify and engage their most active social followers, turning them into advocates who create authentic content. The platform scales peer-to-peer advertising by mobilizing these "brand fans" rather than traditional influencers or bloggers.

1 investor

A business club in Russia that brings together successful entrepreneurs and senior executives for peer learning, mentorship, and networking. The club facilitates personal and business transformation through forum groups, masterclasses, and curated events for members with annual revenues exceeding 60 million rubles.

1 investor

Likey is a platform where content creators build paid communities for their fans, offering monthly membership payments, exclusive communities, online classes, live video fan meetings, virtual gifts, and messaging. It provides creators with revenue analytics, payout dashboards, copyright protection, and merchandise tools, and accepts partnerships from agencies and MCNs.

1 investor

Reserve Holdings operates offline talk sessions ("Vision & Voice") that connect people's experiences, along with a social space for enjoying music, beer, and gatherings with friends. It is a Seoul-based community and offline experience venture.

1 investor

SNOW is an augmented-reality camera app that applies AR effects and filters to photos and videos for consumer use.

1 investor

truloop is a mobile app that consolidates the scattered parts of organizing a get-together — planning, scheduling, and photo sharing — into a single thread, letting users create one invite and share a link. It offers a private space for friend groups to make plans and keep the memories and photos from time spent together.

1 investor

MUSCAT GROUP (formerly Rice Curry) is a Japanese company operating SNS/social media marketing support, community media, SaaS, and consumer beauty brands, running several subsidiaries across marketing and product lines. Listed publicly in June 2024, it groups businesses in social media marketing, media production, and cosmetics/oral care brands.

1 investor

WorkCircle operates an anonymous career social network ("WorkCircle") and a crowdsourced salary database ("OpenSalary") for working professionals in Japan. The company builds online platforms for sharing career information and compensation data.

1 investor

BEAMING develops and operates STAN, an app that supports fandom community operations, aiming to build a "fandom economy" that connects fans and the people they support. The company serves fans and creators seeking to engage with and support their favorite people and communities.

1 investor