Zoobe
A mobile app that allows users to create animated 3D video messages..
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor investor | €0.0 | round |
| investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
N/A | Support Program | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
| USD | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| EBITDA | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| Profit | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| EV | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
| EV / revenue | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x |
| EV / EBITDA | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x | 00.0x |
| R&D budget | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 | 0000 |
Source: Company filings or news article, Dealroom estimates
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Zoobe Message Entertainment GmbH was a Berlin-based technology company that operated in the mobile communication and entertainment market. Founded in 2011 by Lenard F. Krawinkel, an experienced professional from the animated film industry, the company aimed to merge entertainment with personal messaging. Krawinkel's background in animation, including work on films like *Animals United*, directly influenced the company's product direction.
The company's core offering was the Zoobe app, a character voice-messaging platform that allowed users to create animated video messages. The application utilized a patent-protected speech recognition technology to automatically lip-sync a user's voice recording with a 3D animated character. These video messages could be personalized with photos or backgrounds and shared across various messaging platforms or via a direct link. The technology was designed to process and deliver messages instantly using cloud-based services, minimizing the storage footprint on the user's device. The app featured a wide array of characters, including licensed intellectual property from major partners like Sony Pictures, FOX, Sanrio, and Capcom, alongside its in-house designs.
Zoobe's business model included a direct-to-consumer app and the licensing of its technical framework as a Software Development Kit (SDK) for integration into third-party applications. This strategy was supported by a seven-figure seed funding round in May 2013 from investors including IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, Brandenburg Ventures, and DCM. At its peak, the company reported that over 250 million video messages were created by its ten million users. Despite its initial traction and user engagement, the Zoobe app was shut down in April 2017. Reports suggest the service became too costly to maintain.
Keywords: Zoobe, character messaging, voice messaging, animated avatar, lip-sync technology, mobile communication, Lenard Krawinkel, SDK, digital entertainment, message entertainment, 3D characters, voice-to-animation, mobile app, video messaging, Berlin startup