London’s Lapse closes $30 million Series A round for Gen-Z friendly photo sharing network

Friends-focused photo-sharing app Lapse, based in London, has closed an oversubscribed $30 million Series A round. Co-led by Greylock and DST Global Partners, preeminent investors in the Internet technology sector, existing investors GV (Google Ventures), Octopus Ventures, and Speedinvest returned to participate alongside high-profile angel investors Naveen Gavini (former Chief Product Officer at Pinterest), Soleio (designer and investor), Nima Khajehnouri (former VP of Engineering at Snap Inc.), and Praveen Murugesan (former Director of Engineering at Uber). Greylock General Partner Jacob Andreou (Former Snap Inc. Senior Vice President of Product & Growth) joins Lapse Board of Directors

The raise validates a year of exponential growth for Lapse, which became the most downloaded app in the Apple US & UK app stores, the company said. Lapse’s interface allows users to capture and share authentic, unedited photos with friends, and stay in the moment rather than obsess over how their content will be received, the company claims, adding “this approach has helped the app to grow an engaged following rapidly. Today, millions of consumers use Lapse as their camera to capture and share memories with their friends.”

According to Techcrunch, “Following on from a previous $12.4 million raised in seed and pre-seed funding back in 2021, this brings the total to just over $42 million and a valuation of around $150 million, according to sources.”

Launched in 2021, Lapse was inspired by co-founder Ben Silvertown‘s experience using a point-and-shoot film camera while backpacking in Vietnam. When he returned, he teamed up with his brother Dan, to build the app.

“Lapse doesn’t let you upload or edit in ways that other platforms encourage,” says Ben Silvertown. “Everyone on Lapse plays by the same rules, which creates a space where it’s OK to share all moments, not just the glamorous.”

As Lapse has grown, the Silvertowns have prioritized evolving the app to meet the needs of its community, according to a press release. The team will continue to prioritize product updates guided by user feedback, and plan to expand the company’s engineering and technical teams.

“Lapse has captured the hearts and minds of a generation who isn’t sharing their lives with friends on other social platforms,” said Jacob Andreou, General Partner at Greylock. “This is a testament to Lapse’s founders Ben and Dan, who are a unique blend of art and science, and obsessed with building an authentic experience for young people to capture moments and share memories.”