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Why Rounds Video Chat App May Be the Next Big Thing
Israeli based start-up has quietly amassed 25 million subscribers and counting.
— -- Say hello to Rounds, an app that has stealthily amassed millions of subscribers, attracted big-name investors and is now bursting onto the scene as the next big thing when it comes to staying connected.
If Skype and WhatsApp got together and gave birth to a quirky child, it would be Rounds.
The app offers the same free messaging users get from WhatsApp but also adds the options for video calls that can include up to 12 people in one session.
It's in those group calls where the fun happens. Friends can do everything from play games and watch YouTube videos to surfing the Internet together.
Dany Fishel, the co-founder and CEO of Rounds, said the app is all about "instantaneous connectivity meets fun and interactive shared experiences."
With more than 25 million active users, Rounds has just a fraction of WhatsApp's estimated 700 million users.
The app, however, has caught the eye of Sequoia Capital, the company that was the sole investor in WhatsApp, which was later acquired by Facebook.
Rounds grabbed $12 million in funding today from a round led by Sequoia Capital, along with other high-profile backers, including Samsung Ventures and Verizon Ventures.
Even if it doesn't swell to the size of WhatsApp, Rounds has at least one big achievement to brag about: Saving relationships.
One reviewer wrote in the app store that she and her boyfriend are apart and use Rounds to keep in touch.
"Thanks to the geniuses who developed this app," she wrote. "You may very well save[d] our relationship."
