Tech start-up Vyng rings in undisclosed amount from Indian Angel Network

Los Angeles-based technology start-up Vyng, which allows customers to use personalised videos that appear on lock screens as ringtones, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN).

The investment is part of a $3 million-dollar funding the start-up raised in 2017. Eyeing the Indian market, the company will use the funds for expansion.

"In today's conveyor belt of identikit smartphones, where there is little scope for innovation, it is interesting and awe-inspiring, to see how something as simple as a phone's lock screen can be transformed into something as disruptive as done by Vyng,” said Sandeep Soni, lead investor at IAN.

Backed by March Capital, a Google Ventures partner, and advised by the founders of Giphy and GroupMe, Vyng is adding about 20 per cent users on a week-on-week basis in India.

Founded in 2016, it is a lock screen app that allows millennials better conversations by letting them set videos as ringtones for friends, playing a fresh video on the lock screen with every call. So far, it has around 500 million videos played across 170 countries. 

The Vyng app re-kindles human connection by allowing users to place personalised videos of friends, families and loved ones on the smartphone’s lock screen, said Paul Kats, co-founder & CEO, Vyng.

 “There are over eight billion phones calls on smartphones and 22 billion SMS notifications every single day. Vyng can fundamentally improve those experiences and bring value to the user at the very first touch point,” Kats added.