KLIPY, a San Francisco-based startup founded by Georgians, has raised $1.2 million in seed funding to monetize the untapped world of GIFs, stickers, memes, and AI content – without compromising user experience or privacy. The round was backed by British fund Sturgeon Capital, NBA champion Zaza Pachulia, Gfycat co-founder Dan McEleney, and other Silicon Valley investors. 

One of KLIPY's previous investors, Presto Ventures shared the news with AIN.

About KLIPY

  • Founded in 2022 by Givi Beridze and Waska Chaduneli as Kikliko, KLIPY is building the monetization engine the GIF. The company created a localized library of animated content. From day one of integration, apps and platforms can showcase highly relevant, culturally tailored GIFs, memes, or AI features to their users – boosting user engagement and unlocking new revenue streams.

  • With a more efficient infrastructure and AI capabilities, KLIPY now handles around 4 billion requests per month while keeping server costs under $1,500, as stated in the press release. More importantly, KLIPY’s ad-supported technology makes it possible to insert non-intrusive, user-friendly ads between content, both direct and programmatic, enabling apps and content owners to generate revenue.

“KLIPY is proving that short-form media, like GIFs, stickers, and memes, is much more than  entertainment – it’s a billion-dollar business. And we aren’t just monetizing it; we’re reinventing how people create and communicate by bringing generative AI directly into the platforms they already use every day,” says Givi Beridze, co-Founder & CEO of KLIPY.

Investment details

The round was backed by British fund Sturgeon Capital, NBA champion Zaza Pachulia, Gfycat co-founder Dan McEleney, founder of Mizmaa VC Isaac Applbaum, investor in Stripe and OpenAI Tim Wagner, Caucasus Ventures and other Silicon Valley investors.

Sturgeon Capital is a leading frontier markets investment boutique with headquarter in London. Sturgeon focuses on technology-enabled businesses that offer products and services that solve an acute pain point for a large untapped potential market.

Fresh investment will help KLIPY’s global expansion, with a focus on onboarding new apps and becoming the market leader in 2025. In the last six months, KLIPY has launched on major platforms like Slack, Canva, and Figma.

Read more: Georgian startup KIKLIKO received $100k in a pre-seed funding led by Presto Ventures.