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Lapse has raised $30 million in Series A funding, co-founder Dan Silvertown tells Axios, as the photo app invests in product updates. 

Why it matters: The investment underscores investor interest in new social media apps, despite tough competition with TikTok and Instagram.

How it works: Lapse lets people take and share photos that are filtered like film. Like Snapchat, it opens to the camera. There's a scrollable feed of photos from friends, which users can react to with emoji and text, and a separate feed of publicly featured photos. 

"It's a shared disposable camera for friends," Silvertown says. 

Dan's brother, Ben, was inspired to build Lapse after using a point-and-shoot film camera while backpacking in Vietnam in 2019. They launched the app in 2021. The London-based startup has a team of 18.

App downloads grew rapidly in part by requiring users to invite people before they could access the app. It hit No. 1 in Apple's App Store in the U.S. and UK last year.

By the numbers: Usage peaked at 100 million moments captured monthly, per the company. Dan says Lapse has millions of users but declined to elaborate.

Reality check: Apps with disposable camera vibes aren't new. Instagram started that way. Dispo blew up in 2021. 

💭 Kerry's thought bubble: I joined Lapse in November, but haven't felt the need to post when I'm constantly sharing photos on Snapchat, Instagram and in text groups. 

My friend Brian Moore, an active user, says Lapse's darkroom makes the content feel more authentic than what's on social media. 

Catch up quick: Lapse raised a $1.4 million pre-seed round led by Speedinvest in 2021 and a $11 million seed round co-led by Octopus Ventures and GV later that year.

Zoom in: Greylock and DST Global Partners co-led the Series A, which closed in December. Existing investors Octopus Ventures, GV and Speedinvest participated.

They were joined by ex-Pinterest Naveen Gavini, software designer Soleio, ex-Snap Nima Khajehnouri and ex-Uber Praveen Murugesan.

Greylock partner Jacob Andreou, formerly of Snap, joined the board. He tells Axios his interest stemmed from the co-founders' expertise in design and business and their focus on "long-term retention."

What's next: Lapse is hiring more engineers and technical staff. An Android app is not on the near-term roadmap.

The app doesn't make money. Future plans likely involve subscriptions, Dan says, noting the value around memories people are storing exclusively in Lapse.

Photo app Lapse raises $30M Series A

An Android app is not on the near-term roadmap.

Illustration of a disposable camera made from money.

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Lapse has raised $30 million in Series A funding, co-founder Dan Silvertown tells Axios, as the photo app invests in product updates. Why it matters: The investment underscores investor interest in new social media apps, despite tough competition with TikTok and Instagram.

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Photo app Lapse raises $30M Series A

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