David Dobrik’s Dispo camera app could already be worth $100m

Dispo, a photography application co-founded by YouTube sensation David Dobrik, is said to be valued at — at least — $100m.

The mobile app takes inspiration from disposable cameras, adding a grainy filter to photos and only allowing access to them at 9am on the following day. It also recently launched photo-sharing capabilities in closed beta.

It’s been reported that major venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Benchmark have all expressed interest in investing in the company’s Series A funding round.

The Information reports that, separate from the above interest, investors have offered to value the company at $100m or more — citing a source close to the situation.

The functionality of Dispo is said to mimic the delayed gratification of disposable photos. Dobrik and his co-founders hope to allow users to live in the moment due to the removal of being able to instantaneously view photos they’ve taken. The status of the expanded version of the app means users can only gain access by receiving a digital code.

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The closed beta of the photo-sharing element of Dispo only launched earlier in February 2020 but it’s proving to be a hit, so much so that some of the biggest investment firms in the world are hoping to get a piece of the pie.

The seed funding round for the app totaled $4m and was led by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, as well as other funds like Unshackled, Shrug Capital, and Weekend Fund. The new round of funding is expected to be completed in the “next couple of weeks,” according to the report.

“It’s nostalgic for millennials, but for Gen Z it feels like a totally different experience from Instagram and Snapchat,” said Maria Salamanca, a principal at Unshackled, in relation to Dispo. “Gen Z is craving being present, and this kind of allows that.”

Sequoia, one of the reported interested parties, has invested in companies like 100 Thieves, Airbnb, Apple, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, PayPal, Streamlabs, YouTube, and Zoom.