Raises $4.5M to power AI-photo fun and a new way to connect with friends - vybe

Aug 28, 2024

Raises $4.5M to power AI-photo fun and a new way to connect with friends

We're pumped to share some big news with you all – vybe has officially closed a $4.75M seed funding round! 🎉

We started vybe with a simple yet powerful idea: to revolutionize how friends create and share photos together. Imagine an AI-powered camera app that’s like Snap 2.0, built for today.

With vybe, every photo becomes an opportunity to dream, create, and connect. Our camera app transforms your photos into vibrant, creative visions using cutting-edge AI. For the first time, social media is not just about capturing moments; it’s about creating them together and sharing with friends.

Whether you’re adding wild or unexpected elements to your pictures or envisioning future adventures, vybe’s tools make advanced AI creations effortless and fun. The only limit is your own creativity and imagination!

vybe isn’t just for friends. It’s for everyone! Imagine connecting with your favorite celebrities, influencers, and creators in a way that feels genuine and fun. Our app democratizes AI image tools, making self-expression and creativity accessible to all.

Our World Class Investors Roster

We couldn't have done this without the amazing support from our investors. Stellation Capital led the round with support from Scribble Ventures, Coalition Operators, Neo, and Blueprint FTC. In addition to these great funds, we’re honored to have the backing of some incredible people:

Peter Boyce II (Founder at Stellation Capital, former Partner at General Catalyst)
Kelvin - Beachum (NFL Player at Arizona Cardinals)
Ali Partovi (early investor in Facebook, Airbnb, Dropbox, Uber)
Kevin Weil (Chief Product Officer at OpenAI, former VP Product Instagram and Twitter)

Meet the dream team

Our team is small but mighty, with just 10 brilliant minds working on vybe today. We’ve got talent from Snap, Meta, and BeReal, all coming together to create something truly unique. As co-founders of the company, allow us to introduce ourselves:

Dr. Mandela Patrick here! I’m the co-founder & CEO of vybe. I did my PhD at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where I pioneered research in multi-modal AI video and image understanding. My journey took me to Meta’s AI research department, where I worked on core AI algorithms for Instagram Reels. With over 1400 citations and publications at major AI conferences, my passion for AI and machine learning is boundless. Oh, and I completed my PhD in record time – under 2.5 years!

And I’m Dr. Arnab Ghosh, co-founder & CTO of Vybe. My PhD journey at the University of Oxford, supported by a Microsoft Student Fellowship, focused on generative models for image rendering. My work has been cited over 1000 times and has been showcased at top-tier conferences. I even presented a pioneering AI Assisted sketch recommendation system at the UK Parliament! Before vybe, I was at Snapchat, leading the ML team responsible for launching image-based Generative AI features like Bitmoji Backgrounds.