A photo-sharing app has raised 拢8.3 million seed funding from prominent investors after a million photos were taken using the platform in its first month.聽
Lapse enables groups of friends to avoid the pressures of traditional social networks by emulating the experience of film cameras.
Inspired by the experience of using a point-and-shoot film camera whilst backpacking in Vietnam in 2019, Ben Silvertown and his brother Dan built the app to help people live in the moment when taking and sharing photos.聽
It allows friends in group chats to take a 鈥榬oll鈥� of 36 shots together – all of which are a mystery until they 鈥榙evelop鈥� the next day in a private social experience, showcased as an animated montage called a Lapse.聽
Group members can react to and comment on photos, and save or export individual shots or the full Lapse.聽
The app is currently invitation-only as the founders says they are prioritising product development, user experience and controlled growth.
The seed round was led by Octopus Ventures and GV (formerly Google Ventures). It also featured Speedinvest and a number of high-profile angels – including Soleio Cuervo, the designer who invented Facebook鈥檚 Like button.
It comes just four months after Lapse closed a 拢1m pre-seed round.
鈥淟apse doesn鈥檛 let you review, edit, or curate photos in ways that other platforms encourage. The focus is on enjoying the moment, rather than trying to showcase it,鈥� said Ben Silvertown.
鈥淧eople are taking and sharing photos on Lapse of things they never would have otherwise. By removing the pressure for perfection and the mental barrier when we review photos, a whole new world of more 鈥榬eal鈥� photos gets unlocked.鈥�
All shots are processed in-app using Lapse鈥檚 image processing engine, designed and tested with more than 30 professional photographers to replicate the distinctive appearance of film.
鈥淭he social media landscape is becoming more 鈥榤edia鈥� less 鈥榮ocial鈥�. Public platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are so creator- and influencer-dominated, your real friends are drowned out,鈥� said Dan Silvertown.
鈥淥ur vision with Lapse is to own the other end of the spectrum, where sharing is more relaxed, intimate, and intentional – genuinely social, not just for likes. Lapses are rich records of spontaneous and authentic moments, to be shared privately between friends rather than broadcast to distant and anonymous followers.鈥�