Giggles announced it has raised over $1 million in pre-seed funding, bringing its total funding to more than $1.2 million, to build a platform that transforms viral content into a tradable asset class. The round was led by 1kx, with participation from Noar Ventures, Bain Capital Scout, Virtuals Protocol, and Night Capital, among others.
Founded in 2025 by Justin Jin and Edwin Wang, Giggles is developing a social platform where users can buy and sell stakes in videos, allowing early discovery of content to generate financial rewards if it goes viral. The model aims to shift social media from passive consumption to active participation, blending elements of content discovery with financial incentives.
The platform has gained early traction since launching its beta in August 2025, reaching nearly 30,000 daily active users and building a waitlist of more than 400,000 users ahead of a broader public rollout across iOS, Android, and web platforms.
Giggles plans to use the funding to expand product capabilities, introduce real-money mechanics, and scale distribution as it prepares for a wider launch.
KEY QUOTES:
“Giggles is designed for a new generation who are already discovering, backing, and amplifying trends across the internet. There’s real social currency in being the person who ‘brought’ a trend to a friend group. People want to find content early, share it, and shape what spreads. With user-generated assets like meme coins, we saw the emergence of a new social and financial behavior.”
Justin Jin, Co-Founder And CEO, Giggles
“Users are treating cultural discovery the way investors treat early equity stakes. We’re tapping into how people already act on platforms like TikTok, where they comment ‘I’m early’ or ‘investing in this post.’ We turned that into something users can actually act on.”
Edwin Wang, Co-Founder And CTO, Giggles
“Prediction markets show that people enjoy having a stake in outcomes, not just watching them unfold. We believe the concept of rewarding young people for identifying viral content early is an elegant blend of social participation and financialized incentives, representing a consequential new market and new social media.”
Jakub Rusiecki, Research Associate, 1kx
