Serena Williams-Backed Kids Social Media App, Zigazoo, Secures $17M In Funding

The metaverse concept is growing, and figures and brands like Serena Williams, Jimmy Kimmel, the NBA, and others feel it shouldn’t be solely reserved for adults. Now, the aforementioned celebrities and businesses are putting their money where their mouths are and have backed a children’s app called Zigazoo.

During the funding process on June 28, 2022, Zigazoo founders Zak and Leah Ringelstein stated that they have secured $17M led in large by Liberty City Ventures. According to Refresh Miami, the Miami startup application received funding from an array of businesses and celebrities such as the Boston Celtics and San Francisco 49ers, OneFootball, Medici VC, Animoca Brands, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Miami’s Flamingo Capital, and Core Ventures. Before the funding round on June 28, Zigazoo had acquired pledges from both Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures and Jimmy Kimmel.

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The Ringelsteins plan to take the children’s app to new heights with the newly acquired capital. According to Coindesk, the company wants to “expand their Web3 offerings” and become the premier kid’s app on the market.

“We’re planning on using the new capital to become the biggest kids company in the world,” CEO Zak Ringelstein ambitiously expressed. “By expanding our Web3 offerings while building towards becoming the leading social network for kids to interact directly with creators and brands in the kids’ media space.”

Liberty City Ventures founding partner Emil Woods also spoke about their decision to invest in Zigazoo and why children are essential for tomorrow’s digital landscape development.

“The future of Web3 will be shaped by today’s children, as their creativity expands the range of what is possible,” said Emil Woods. “Zigazoo in building a fun child-friendly platform where the creators of tomorrow can engage, explore and experiment.”

Zigazoo was founded in 2020 to create a safe space online for kids ages 6-12 to be themselves, learn, and foster their creativity amongst their peers. The app, amassing over one million users, has since become the top-rated app in the Apple store and boasts in-app appearances and content from Tiffany Haddish and LeBron James.

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