Blabroom, a resident company of the St. Petersburg-based technopark and incubator Ingria, has completed a seed stage round from Imperious Group, which has injected 6 million rubles (approximately $200,000) into the startup in exchange for a 20% stake.
Blabroom’s site has been designed to help shy people establish their first contacts with other members of the site. In addition to a diverse range of discussion topics, users are offered features that resemble a “dating game,” in which users who enter as singles can end up in a couple, Ingria reported to East West Digital News.
The startup began in August 2012 exclusively on VKontakte, Russia’s leading social network, where it claims it attracted more than 500,000 users. The application is temporarily closed as Blabroom is preparing the launch of its independent website next month.
Mobile and tablet apps are also being planned.
With this first investment round complete and the possibility of a subsequent investment round with the same investor expected in the course of this year, Blabroom will develop new features, launch versions in six languages, and prepare for its entry into the European and US markets.
Established in 2010, Imperious Group is a Moscow-based fund, whose initial capital comes from real estate. It is focused on Internet, mobile apps, and e-commerce projects in Russia, Ukraine and the USA. Its investment activity has remained under the radar of the media so far, however.
