Urturn, a social platform for self-expression, completed a $13.4m funding.
The round was led by Balderton Capital, which made a $10.7m investment, with participation from the private equity arm of Debiopharm Group, which invested the remaining $2.7m. In conjunction with the funding, Balderton’s founding partner Barry Maloney will join Urturn’s board.
Launched in January 2013 by CEO Stelio Tzonis and Alexandre Tzonis, Mathieu Fivaz and Vincent Borel, Urturn operates a platform for users to share their views with friends, followers and celebrities.
Available on the web or as a mobile app, it features ready-made templates, tools to personalize images with captions or music clips, to create collages and to invite the community to cast votes on sets of pictures. A function called “Your Turn” button enables users to share new interpretations of other people’s posts and join in with movements spreading across the web.
According to a written note, the platform has received interest from the music industry, with artists who have already signed up including Rita Ora, David Bowie, One Direction, Green Day, Union J, Ellie Goulding, The Gossip, Carly Rae Jepsen and Kendrick Lamar.
The company employs 25 people in Lausanne, London and Silicon Valley.
FinSMEs
22/05/2013