Instagram backer may invest in 'sexting app' Snapchat

[Jazzy]

A photo sharing app that deletes images seconds after you share them is likely to receive funding from Benchmark, the company that first invested in Instagram.



Venture capitalist Matt Cohler, a partner at Benchmark, is very likely to invest in the controversial app SnapChat, according to tech site Gigaom.



And TechCrunch reports: We hear from industry sources that the company is raising 'north of $10 million' (£6.2 million) at a valuation loosely around $70 million (£43 million) from Benchmark Capital.



Gigaom estimates Snapchat is raising $8 million (£5 million) for a valuation closer to $50 million (£31 million).



Snapchat is an app that allows users to take a photo and share it with friends. The sent image vanishes after one to ten seconds, as specified by the sender.



Claims that teenagers use the app to send one another naked pictures of themselves have been denied by CEO Evan Spiegel, who told TechCrunch: “I just don’t know people who do that. It doesn’t seem that fun when you can have real sex.



But for teenagers living at home with parents and with ready access to smartphones, Snapchat has received media attention for seeming to offer a consequence-free way of sharing pornographic images.



Snapchat claims that around 1,000 photos are shared every second through its service, and many are unaware that the photos can be stored using screenshots on most smartphones, making them permanent.

Source



Anyone use Snapchat?

 

[Dennis]

my kind of investor

 

[Evil Eye]

“I just don’t know people who do that. It doesn’t seem that fun when you can have real sex.

Anyway... good for him I guess.