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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

A photo app with nostalgic vibes has caught the attention of millions of people seeking a fun way to share memories. 

Why it matters: Investors see opportunities in new social media apps, despite tough competition with TikTok and Instagram.

Driving the news: Lapse has raised $30 million in Series A funding to invest in product updates, co-founder Dan Silvertown tells Kerry.

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 U.K. 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, says Dan.

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

1 big thing: Clicking with new social media

Illustration of a disposable camera made from money.

The Financial Times has launched a new venture arm to invest in high-growth media and tech companies. FT Ventures' first investment is in Charter, a future-of-work media startup.

Why it's the BFD: The separate investment arm lets the FT explore strategic investments in smaller, high-growth startups that wouldn't make sense for the broader FT Group, Sara writes.

State of play: The initial £30 million being deployed through the new FT Ventures fund will come from the FT Group's balance sheet, but FT Ventures will operate independently.

"One of the advantages of forming FT Ventures formally is that we can also benefit from a different board," said Alexandra Calinikos, corporate development and strategy director at the FT.

"We are looking for high-growth and innovative companies in the global information industry and tech companies that support them," Calinikos said. That could be companies in media, data, intelligence, or technologies and tools that support those areas.

Between the lines: The FT's investment is part of a broader $1 million fundraising round that Charter will add to its $3 million seed funding, said Kevin Delaney, CEO and editor-in-chief of Charter.

Editor's note: The story was updated to show that the FT investment in Charter is part of a $1 million round with other participants, not $1 million by FT alone.

2. The BFD: Venture with the FT

Illustration of a hundred dollar bill printed on pink Financial Times newsprint paper with an FT logo where the US seal would be. 

Go deeper in our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Photoroom, a Paris-based AI photo editing app, raised $43m in Series B funding at a $500m valuation. Balderton Capital led and was joined by Aglaé and insider YCombinator. https://axios.link/3TdkLtV

• Inkitt, a New York-based self-publishing platform, raised $37m in Series C funding. Khosla Ventures led and was joined by insiders NEA, Kleiner Perkins and Redalpine. https://axios.link/48r5NoF

• NLX, a New York-based voice AI startup, raised $12m in Series A funding led by Cercano. https://axios.link/3uOMBDq

• Komo Technologies, a Perth, Australia-based marketing tech platform, is raising a $5m seed round. It's raised half via existing investors, Axios Pro: Retail Deals' Richard Collings reports. https://axios.link/3TeRC1E

• Global Infrastructure Partners, KKR and Macquarie are among those circling a stake in the Polish operations of Cellnex Telecom (Madrid: CLNX), per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/48rpPPT

• Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) is exploring a takeover of Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS), per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3SWKGos

• U.S. News & World Report acquired TheCultureTrip.com, a London-based travel website, from Culture Trip Travel UK Ltd. It did a management buyout last year. https://axios.link/3US4rjp

• Multiply Group, an Abu Dhabi-based tech conglomerate that's prepping an IPO for its media unit, acquired UAE-based advertising firm BackLite Media. https://axios.link/3uFuWy7

3. Deal flow

• Sam Wheeler was named executive director of the Writers Guild of America East. He serves as national executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists. https://axios.link/49uL5Wf

• Gemma Garcia was named head of Noticias Telemundo. She was most recently head of news at RTVE Play. https://axios.link/3TaGcfc

• Luke Bradley-Jones will join The Economist as president. He will remain at Disney+ until the summer. https://axios.link/42S6k1G

• Kristen Hodges, formerly with Screen Australia, joined Archipelago Productions as a development executive. https://axios.link/3TamobI

• Rob Cassandro, a former A3 agent, joined Innovative Artists. https://axios.link/3If0PAI

• Sean Bailey has departed Disney after 15 years, where he served as president of Motion Picture Studios. David Greenbaum, Searchlight co-president, will take on the new role of president, Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios. https://axios.link/3uDWpAh

• Sony Interactive Entertainment is cutting 8% of its workforce, about 900 employees. https://axios.link/49wQtYQ

4. Movin' on up (or out)

💍 LVMH deepens Hollywood ties for media, entertainment deals (Axios)

"LVMH calls its new venture 22 Montaigne Entertainment, named for the address of its Paris headquarters. ... Luxury brands have long benefitted from ties to celebrities and from on-screen cameos, but there's a growing race underway to cement relationships and access to talent," Hope King writes.

⚖️ Why the Supreme Court is still vexed on tech (Axios)

"Representatives for Texas and Florida kept comparing social media to telephone carriers, saying they should be regulated as such (meaning content rules would have to be far looser). Justices mostly responded that that framing isn't how they are looking at the case, and platforms can't be regulated like phone companies," Ashley Gold reports.

🎟️ Live Nation loses bid to dismiss investor class action lawsuit over antitrust scrutiny (THR)

"U.S. District Judge Kenly Kato, in an order issued [yesterday] declining to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit, found that the ticket giant may have violated securities laws by misrepresenting the scope of its legal troubles for allegedly abusing its market power in the live events industry," Winston Cho writes.

5. Channel surfing

an illustration of a poster that has a remote control in front of a sunset and says "channel surfing" on a dorm room wall

📺 Situational awareness: "More streaming companies are starting to accept political ads as the market opportunity grows bigger," Sara Fischer writes.

@kerrymflynn: "Past Lives" on Paramount+. Catching up on Oscar noms. Depressing to watch for a Monday, but glad I did for the great story and acting.

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and disposable camera fans to sign up.

February 27, 2024

1 big thing: Clicking with new social media