Monkfish Equity and HR Alpha Venture Partners have been announced as the latest investors in Zapitano alongside a unnamed private investor and the previously-announced deal with the German Startups Group. The social TV platform’s original investor Media Ventures has also taken part in the latest round.
Berlin-based Zapitano is a second screen app that enables users to share their TV watching experience with others. As they watch they can interact with their own personal TV buddies through a notebook, tablet or smartphone; talking about the programs, inviting other friends to watch and voting on their favourite stars. The iOS app was named Best App of 2012 by Apple just three months after its release.
The company was founded in January 2011 by CMO Jens Hegenberger, CFO Dr. Marc Mogalle and CTO Gunnar Gläser before being launched in March 2012. Mogalle said: “We are delighted to have such reputable investors on board who will not only invest, but also support us with their extensive know-how and experience.”
The previous round worth a reported €1.7 million was led by Media Ventures and also included former Sat.1 managing director Guido Bolten through his company BoBrands. Zapitano is also taking part in the ProFIT program from the Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB).
Dirk Ströer of Media Ventures said: “This investment gives us the chance to expand the Zapitano platform even faster.” The amount of the latest round has not been released.