Yope
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Investors
Founders
About
Yope is a private social networking app centered on “micro communities,” where friends and family share photos, videos, messages, and games without algorithmic feeds or advertising 1. Accounts are private by default and the product monetizes through a subscription for power users 1. The company was founded in 2021 by CEO Bahram Ismailau and CTO Paul Rudkouski, and the current version of the app — a friends-only photo-messaging experience — was released in September 2024 after two prior product pivots 123. Ismailau is based in London and the company plans to open a U.S. office; the team is roughly 35 people 1. Yope reports nearly 15 million registered users, with over half opening the app at least five days per week, and users collectively sharing 10–20 million pieces of content weekly 1.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-22 | Seed | $12.3M | Northzone | Inovo, Redseed, Geek Ventures 145 |
| 2025-02-24 | Seed | $4.65M | Goodwater Capital | Inovo VC, Redseed 23 |
Total funding to date: approximately $20M across all rounds 1.
What Investors Say
“Yope is a fresh, empowering and safe take on social media where the users are in full control of their experience in contrast to the predatory practices of Meta, TikTok or X.” — Pär-Jörgen Pärson, General Partner, Northzone 1
What Founders Say
“[Young people] don’t have any place to self-express if they are not ready to be an influencer.” — Bahram Ismailau, Co-Founder & CEO, Yope 1
Sources
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Ivan Mehta, “Yope raises $12.3M to build a private social network without algorithms or ads,” TechCrunch, July 22, 2026. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/22/yope-raises-12-3m-to-build-a-private-social-network-without-algorithms-or-ads/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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Ivan Mehta, “Yope is sparking Gen Z (and VC) interest with an Instagram-like app for private groups,” TechCrunch, February 24, 2025. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/24/yope-is-sparking-genz-and-vc-interest-with-an-instagram-like-app-for-private-groups/↩↩
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“YOPE,” Wikipedia. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YOPE↩↩
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“Yope Raises $12.3M Seed for Private Social Network,” Fundraise Insider, July 22, 2026. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://fundraiseinsider.com/blog/yope-raises-12-3m-seed-for-private-social-network/↩
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“Yope Raises $12.3 Million Pre-Series A Led By Northzone For AI-Native Private Social Platform,” Pulse 2.0, July 24, 2026. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://pulse2.com/yope-raises-12-3-million-pre-series-a-led-by-northzone-for-ai-native-private-social-platform/↩