Berlin-based VC firm Earlybird is backing Ding Dong, a private messaging app that lets friends send each other a location, time and photo with a single tap.
The app is currently gearing up for a relaunch with a new iOS app in private beta and a new Android app on the way. It’s an incredibly simple concept, already a hit with certain tech taste-makers in Berlin: open the app and snap a photo to “ding” one or more friends, who’ll see the photo appear with your location on a map and can tap to message back.
The app doesn’t track location on an ongoing basis, only when the user sends a message, which saves battery life and keep personal data collection at a minimum.
The early-stage investment from Earlybird is not yet announced but filed with Germany’s commercial register. Neither company could comment on the deal today.
Ding Dong’s founders – Onno Faber (pictured above), Jorn van Dijk and Leonard van Driel – hail from the Netherlands but the company is based in Berlin, with a spot secured in under-construction tech complex Factory alongside SoundCloud, 6Wunderkinder and a regional office for Zendesk.
It’s the second investment in a messaging app for Earlybird, alongside Berlin-based Moped. The early-stage pan-European firm’s most recently announced deal is a $6m Series A investment in Instagram competitor EyeEm. Its wider portfolio includes a mix of consumer internet software and apps, ad tech, B2B payments and social media analytics, and – from previous funds – health tech.
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