Buddy, a social utility app designed to get you off your cellphone and socializing in actual life, introduced a $1.1 million pre-seed funding spherical from recreation veterans Tim Willits and Vince Zampella.
The Los Angeles startup additionally has signed up Dennis Fong, the primary professional gamer and CEO of GGWP, as an adviser.
This funding and trade experience will propel Buddy’s formidable product roadmap, which incorporates revolutionary AI-driven gaming options, the corporate mentioned.
“We’re not just here to play the game, we’re here to change it. I am so grateful to have a superstar team of industry heavyweights who won’t sleep until we’ve made a significant, positive impact,” mentioned Claire Wright, CEO and founding father of Buddy, in an announcement. “We’re building more than just a product — we’re creating a tool that empowers people to truly live life, connect, and thrive in ways that matter. Our mission is to drive culture, spark change, and redefine what it means to engage with the world around us.”
Buddy was constructed with Gen Z and Gen A advisors, and it needs to redefine social interplay, merging digital and bodily experiences with a concentrate on non-toxic, non-public engagement. Using patented mesh
expertise, Buddy allows connectivity even with out mobile or Wi-Fi networks accessible, and the corporate continues to innovate, anticipating and fulfilling the following era’s wants, even earlier than they come up.
Assist from gaming leaders
“Buddy’s fundamental mission to create a healthier and safer social platform deeply resonates with me as a parent of triplet Gen Z kids,” mentioned Tim Willits, chief artistic officer at Saber Interactive, in an announcement. “I’ve seen how traditional social media apps can impact my children’s well-being, scrolling endlessly, often leaving them feeling insecure and alone. BUDDY prioritizes real-world connections, empowering them to build meaningful, real relationships that truly support them as individuals, even in areas without reliable cell or Wi-Fi service.”
Vince Zampella, cofounder of Respawn Leisure and an exec at Digital Arts, mentioned in an announcement, “Buddy’s patented tech and the experienced entertainment and team members are impressive. The mission of promoting connectivity and real-life connection is an exciting cultural shift, and one I can support. As a father of digital natives, I’m always on the lookout for investment opportunities that push better forms of connection. It’s exciting to see the next wave of advancements in social platforms.”
And Dennis Fong, whose digital security instruments at GGWP assist defend customers on a number of the largest on-line platforms, mentioned in an announcement he’s very aligned with Buddy’s mission.
“I’m happy to be part of Buddy’s journey,” Fong acknowledged. “The commitment to fostering healthy and genuine connections in this digital age is vital, and I believe Buddy is uniquely positioned to lead this change.”
What Buddy will do
Buddy needs to revolutionize consumer connections by reworking URL interactions into real-life experiences. Its proprietary mesh expertise permits seamless communication with out counting on conventional networks, enabling customers to foster significant relationships of their on a regular basis lives.
The app has been in beta testing on cell since Could.
The Buddy staff brings in depth expertise from main Fortune 500 firms in music, interactive leisure, and expertise. Wright is a three-time founder and leisure government, having achieved a notable DTC exit.
CTO and cofounder Logan Nguyen beforehand labored at Luminary, Gilt Groupe and S’Extra and has had
a number of exits. CSO and cofounder Ryh-Ming Poon beforehand led international comms and technique for multi-billion greenback franchises at Activision Blizzard and Jam Metropolis. This powerhouse staff merges unmatched
experience to construct the world’s first social utility app.
I requested if the app was targeted at younger customers. In an e-mail to GamesBeat, Wright replied, “Buddy was built with and for Gen Z, as they are very particular about features and UI/UX. Buddy is a social utility tool, a resource, that is helpful for everyone as it allows you to be connected without communication infrastructure – but our anti-marketing, lo-fi design, and AI-driven location-based gamification rewarding end users for experiencing life in person, are definitely geared more towards Zoomers.”
Wright added, “Buddy’s innovative acquisition strategy, addressing the ever increasing CAC (customer acquisition cost) problem with DTC apps, allowed us to build an app they want and need, since we don’t have to meet screen time metrics. Buddy is the antidote to the attention economy, and we’re here to help enhance users’ lives, not strip them away from it.”
I requested what makes Buddy distinctive.
Wright mentioned, “Buddy is an app that rewards users for going out there and living life. Our users are those who have tired or matured beyond Snapchat, Tik Tok or Instagram, who seek meaningful connections and life experiences. As our metrics are not based on screen time, we did not have to build features to keep people on their phones. We are ironically an app that encourages you to get off your phones. Buddy has rethought how to build a social app, like Reddit did – an informational resource of info you actually want to see and benefit from. Buddy is a buddies only network…a network of friends.”
Wright added, “Imagine it’s Saturday morning, and planning spontaneously with close friends who are already in on a Buddy. Instead of a feed or group chat, Buddy becomes your real-time, invite-only map for shared experiences—no endless scrolling, no pressure to post, just pure, close connections.”
How Buddy works
For instance, Wright mentioned you may drop a “secret spot” to start out the day. You may set it at a favourite breakfast place, tagging it with a be aware, “Killer coffee and no line before 10 a.m.”
This auto-deletes after 24 hours, so it’s only a short-lived tip between buddies, creating an unique, in-the-moment really feel. Except it’s so sizzling you determine to put it aside, altering the gatekeeper mentality. All this with out being served advertisements, or different options which are designed to maintain you glued to your display screen.
Buddies can add to any loop in actual time. All through the day, buddies close by add their very own Spot updates: one finds a road vendor with classic vinyls, whereas one other drops a “Meet here” spot at a quiet lakeside picnic space. Every Spot comes with a fast message and disappears by the top of the day (until somebody needs to avoid wasting the spot for future reference), leaving no path, simply time-sensitive ideas you really need.
And Buddies can share standing with out an excessive amount of noise. Buddy’s Loop characteristic lets every good friend examine in with easy standing updates like “On my way,” or “Leaving in 5!”—fast, practical alerts with out the necessity for full messages or explanations.
It’s additionally has built-in privateness and exclusivity. Buddy solely exhibits updates to these in your community, so it’s like having a non-public social map the place everybody’s intentions align with what you need to do collectively.
And it disappears. Inside 24 hours, all of the Spots, Loops, and messages from the day disappear. There’s no feed to revisit, no content material saved perpetually, simply the reminiscence of an amazing day shared.
And with out giving an excessive amount of away, Wright mentioned Buddy is creating AI-powered, location-specific actions that assist make your days extra adventurous and enjoyable — serving to you and your folks get to know your metropolis, and getting you off your cellphone and experiencing firsthand.
Wright mentioned the corporate is targeted on making a non-toxic surroundings on Buddy. This concerned in depth consumer analysis and information science, making certain the app makes customers really feel secure, linked, and free from the standard social pressures discovered on different platforms.
In contrast to conventional social media apps, Buddy relies on a non-public community and has no public profiles, likes, or follower counts. Customers don’t have to fret in regards to the anxiousness of engagement metrics, nor do they really feel pressured to look a sure means in entrance of the digicam, for approval. The app facilities on real-time, location-based interactions which are purposeful and short-term—permitting customers to share significant updates, not curated personas. Finally, the corporate will possible combine a instrument like GGWP, which makes use of AI to look at communications for toxicity.
The staff has 10 individuals and it’s rising. The app debuted in beta kind within the iOS app retailer in Could and it’s accessible to beta customers. The waitlist is open now, and customers can reserve their handles and obtain updates earlier than the large launch in 2025.
Apart from Willits and Zampella, the traders embrace Paul Reim of Reim Advisors.
