KLIPY announced it raised $3.8 million in funding and joined Google’s AI Futures Fund to scale its expression API layer for GIFs, memes, stickers, clips, and AI-powered media.
The company helps developers integrate expressive media and AI APIs into social, creative, and communication platforms. KLIPY said its technology is used by platforms including BeReal, Baidu, Canva, Figma, and Microsoft SwiftKey, while also giving creators, brands, and rights holders tools to distribute, manage, and control content.
KLIPY’s expression layer is designed for the AI era and is already used by nearly 10,000 developers and 40,000 creators. The company said its API processes billions of requests weekly.
Along with content search and creation tools, KLIPY is building monetization infrastructure for expressive media. Its contextual advertising tools help partner apps create new revenue streams while maintaining control over content and supporting a privacy-conscious user experience.
The funding will support growth across product, engineering, and go-to-market teams. KLIPY also plans to expand to more platforms and build new monetization and creative tools for creators and content studios.
KLIPY was founded by serial entrepreneurs Givi Beridze, Frank Nawabi, and Waska Chaduneli. Collectively, the founders have launched seven companies, including Nawabi’s GIF-sharing platform Tenor, which was acquired by Google in 2018 and scaled to more than one billion users globally.
Participants in the round included Google’s AI Futures Fund, I2BF, Silvercircle VC, Sturgeon Capital, Red Swan Ventures, Intuition Ventures, Yash Patel of Capra Ventures, and former Golden State Warriors player and two-time NBA champion Zaza Pachulia.
KEY QUOTES:
“People are expressing themselves through memes, GIFs, and short-form content more than ever, especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha. This explosion in visual communication is only accelerating now that AI makes expression so quick and easy. While internet culture moves at lightning speed, memes, for example, possess surprising staying power. They take on cultural meaning, and brands are realizing that they are an authentic way to join the conversation and keep their franchises relevant.”
Givi Beridze, Co-Founder and CEO of KLIPY
“At Tenor, we created the largest GIF-sharing platform and pioneered the very first sponsored GIF. Now, KLIPY is building a next-generation ‘expression layer’ for the AI era that combines search, AI, and monetization into a unified API platform, with tools for content rights holders and creators to distribute and manage short-form media at scale.”
Frank Nawabi, Co-Founder and Board Member of KLIPY
“BeReal is all about authentic expression, and KLIPY helps our users express themselves in fun, engaging, and creative ways. Their platform is purpose-built for the next generation of social connection, and the migration was quick and easy.”
Jérémie Colin, BeReal
“The way people communicate online is changing rapidly, driven by AI. Increasingly, people want to be active co-creators of content, not passive consumers. KLIPY is building the intelligent, trusted expression layer that the next generation of apps will rely on, and we’re thrilled to back a team that deeply understands this space at scale.”
Jonathan Silber, Co-Founder and Director of Google’s AI Futures Fund
