ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - Jun 30, 2014) - Yik Yak, the social messaging app for private, localized engagement, today announced it has secured a fresh $10 million in funding led by DCM and joined by Azure Capital Partners, Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN), a leading social networking company in China, and venture capitalist Tim Draper. The Series A influx of capital will be used to build out infrastructure, hire new engineers, and bring the app to virtually all U.S. college campuses by the end of the year.
The funding will also enable international expansion of Yik Yak communities.
Founded in late 2013 by entrepreneurs Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll, Yik Yak is the first app to connect localized users through its real-time social feed. Yik Yak's live stream-based format allows users to 'yak' with each other from any location at any given moment while retaining their privacy. The mobile app currently supports hundreds of communities across the U.S. and worldwide.
"We're seeing serious growth in our engagement rates -- indicating a significant demand for localized, private interactions among mobile users of college age and older," said Droll. "In order to continue scaling and advancing the Yik Yak experience, we need to build a bigger team. This new funding will allow us to do that."
"DCM strongly believes in the Yik Yak community," said David Chao, co-founder and general partner at DCM. "The growth and user engagement have been remarkable and we are confident that the value Yik Yak provides to the communities who use it will continue to grow and will scale globally."
"Yik Yak allows the truth to come out unfettered by identity," said Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. "Free speech without the backlash from the thought police. I expect this company to make a big impact on the world."
Yik Yak recently launched its new PEEK feature, allowing users to look in on what users have to say about current events or stay connected to their university/local communities no matter where they are. By leveraging Yik Yak's unique combination of localized content and anonymity, PEEK'ing ensures an organic, unfiltered feed of news and commentary coming from a specific location.
"Yik Yak's mission is to revolutionize the idea of a live stream and provide a forum that opens new opportunities for communication and interaction from any point in the U.S. and worldwide," said Buffington. "The evolution of social networks is moving toward a private, unfiltered communication model, and Yik Yak is at the center of this shift."