Social media corporation Jodel acquires LAYZR to gamify its platform with avatars

Community startups Jodel and LAYZR have joined forces as "social media platforms become games"…"this is the German equivalent of Snapchat acquiring Bitmoji"

Social media startup Jodel acquires LAYZR to gamify its platform with avatars - this is amid an industry trend of 'social media platforms becoming games'.

Berlin, Germany, 5th of June 2024

● Jodel is a social media community platform focused on Gen Z and Y. It was founded by Alessio Avellan Borgmeyer (Forbes 30 under 30) in 2014 with millions of users across Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. Jodel is backed by well-known US and European VCs (Floodgate Fund and Atlantic Labs), and angel investors Adam di Angelo, (Facebook's first CTO, founder of Quora and board member at OpenAI), the founders of King.com (Candy Crush), Vodoo.io, Zenly and many more.

● They have acquired LAYZR - a tech startup founded in 2021 by Peter Krysta, Tom Lamsfuß and Tom Segbers. LAYZR is particularly known within gaming communities. The core of the startup are digital avatars pushing personal interactions between viewers and streamers, and a marketplace for buying and trading digital items. At the time of the acquisition, LAYZR had 100,000 users and 1,000s of partnerships with streamers. It was also VC-backed, with a seed round led by Atlantic Labs and the Evolve Incubator.

"We built Bitmoji, but a cooler version…it's a platform for 'user-streamer bonding'. At a football match, you might buy a physical football shirt to show your support for the team, but this doesn't translate in the streaming world, where everything's digital. You need a digital avatar…This is the German equivalent of Snapchat acquiring Bitmoji" - Tom Segbers, CTO and cofounder, LAYZR.GG

Why the acquisition made sense:

● Jodel acquired LAYZR for its 'avatar' tech - this is amid an industry trend of social networks 'becoming games'.

"Social media platforms are becoming games and games are becoming social media platforms. With avatars, you move from visual anonymity to pseudonymity: identity can be more playful and contextual. It opens up new avenues for monetisation and engagement…we're building a playful social network" - Alessio Avellan Borgmeyer, CEO and founder, Jodel

● Jodel already had a similar idea on the roadmap - and LAYZR needed a partner with a strong user base to reach scale.

"The acquisition is a win-win scenario for all parties involved: Jodel acquires an exciting and innovative technology fitting perfectly into their strategic vision, while we at LAYZR, as well as our investors benefit from it." - Dr. Peter Krysta, CEO and cofounder, LAYZR.GG

● The two startups share a common investor: Atlantic Labs. Atlantic Labs backed Jodel at pre-seed, seed and Series A - and LAYZR at seed.

"As we look at the future of social, community and expression are what users are asking for, Jodel continues to be at the forefront. Their acquisition of layzr.gg emphasizes this. We couldn't be more excited that they met at one of our portfolio events and are joining forces" - Ruben Schultz, Principal, Atlantic Labs

Jodel at the forefront:

● Jodel were among the first social networks to monetise via subscriptions and in-app purchases.

"We were among the first social networks to offer user subscriptions and consumables - you see the big names following now and jumping on the bandwagon." - Alessio Avellan Borgmeyer, CEO and founder, Jodel

● There is a wider industry trend of social media and community platforms diversifying beyond ad revenue.

"Social networks have huge customer bases, but it can be challenging to monetise these customer bases. Reddit has historically been 'ad-first' but is seeking new revenue sources, even after a successful IPO last month" - Dr. Peter Krysta, CEO and cofounder, LAYZR.GG

Alessio Avellan Borgmeyer, CEO and founder, Jodel: alessio@jodel.com

Dr. Peter Krysta, CEO and cofounder, LAYZR.GG: peter.krysta@layzr.gg
Tom Segbers, CTO and cofounder, LAYZR.GG: tom.segbers@layzr.gg
Tom Lansfuss, CMO and cofounder, LAYZR.GG: tom.lamsfuss@layzr.gg

Contact details:
Sophie Rowe, Brand, PR and Comms at Atlantic Labs: sophie@atlanticlabs.de

About Jodel. Jodel is the world's biggest hypersocial network for young people - it shows you what's happening in your area in real time. The platform allows its users to publish anonymous contributions - either a text (limited in length), a photo taken with a short comment or a video. Each post can then be rated positively and negatively and commented on by other nearby users. Jodel has grown beyond its roots as a student app in Aachen, reaching communities across Germany, the Nordics and MENA. Jodel is based in Berlin and now employs around 60 people and counts Spotify, Zalando, TikTok, Netflix and Amazon among its customers.

About LAYZR. Since 2021, LAYZR has set itself the goal of revolutionizing interactions, especially between streaming stars and their fans, through digital items. Users can create a unique digital avatar on the platform that can be seamlessly integrated into other platforms and games. This innovation, for example, enables instant community gaming on Twitch, with thousands of viewers playing live on stream and without downloads alongside their avatars while supporting their favorite streamers. The start-up also won several prestigious awards, including the Top 50 Startup Award in 2021, the Digital Rising Award and the Next in Esports Award.

This release was published on openPR.