Stockholm's Gofrendly, a social networking app that allows women to find like-minded people to meet up, has obtained $1.3 million in funds led by Swedish VC JNE Invest.
The cash supply provides a platform for Gofrendly to expand overseas, starting in the UK, while also doubling down on its underlying product offer.
Gofrendly's AI smartphone app offers personalisation features like common interests, or reasons for wanting to connect, together with opportunities to host and join group events to further expand the user's friendship circle.
The concept originates from the acquaintance of its two founders, Ulrika Lilja and Claudia Gård, in a friendship date organised through social media giant Facebook.
Lilja and Gård believed it could be helpful to have an app purpose-built for women seeking new connections.
The company was founded in 2015 and has since grown to a user base of 250,000 in the Nordic region, with 65% of user accounts belonging women in Stockholm of 20 to 35 years of age who've found a reliable tool for forging meaningful, platonic companionship. A free-to-access membership tier can be upgraded for £3.99/month to unlock additional privacy and discovery features.
To date, the platform has processed almost 11 million direct messages, 4,600 coffee dates, 2,537 friend groups and 70 trips abroad.
Ulrika Lilja, co-founder and CEO of Gofrendly, said: "Gofrendly is for those with a shared drive to make new connections, create more experiences, and have more memories with friends.
"We allow users to focus on the joy of making new friends, rather than the effort of finding them. We couldn’t be more excited about our plans to further develop and expand the app beyond Sweden, starting with the UK. Female friendships are invaluable to women everywhere, and can help with their general happiness and well-being. Gofrendly is dedicated to fulfilling those important needs.”
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