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Social networking competitors continue to benefit from user exodus from X. SpillThe social app, founded by two former Twitter employees, issued a statement claiming it had also seen a jump in users after the US presidential election, following similar news from Bluesky, which gained over 2 million users during that period.
The startup, backed by $2 million in seed funding from investors like Kapor Capital, Collide Capital, Kerry Washington, and others, has seen subscriptions increase 10x weekly, Spill co-founder and CEO Alfonzo Terrill said in a report. Post on LinkedIn.
“This is the highest week of growth since the platform launched in July of last year,” Terrell told TechCrunch on Thursday on the sidelines of the AfroTech conference. “We also saw a 4x increase in returning users, our highest level since last summer,” he said.
In addition to Spill’s growth, Terrell shared that the startup is currently closing a seed round and is on track to surpass $1 million in annual revenue next year.
Spill’s growing traction is no surprise: Social media users are fleeing X because of complaints Issues of misinformation and moderation. a lot Black Twitter usersIn particular, they became disenchanted with the site (now called X) under Elon Musk and began fleeing to Spill, believing it to be a ‘A safer space’ For the digital black community.
To meet this need, Terrell said his app focuses not only on bringing in new people, but making sure they come back frequently and invite their friends.
Since January, Terrell and his team have been working to make Spill more fun and keep users engaged. It has simplified its UI, added new feed options to see what’s trending, improved content moderation, and added ways to trade on the platform by launching the Spill Shop. In June, the company launched its first game, Spades, which has been played more than 20,000 times, Terrell said.
At the AfroTech Expo this week, Spill launched Groups, which will allow people to create sub-communities.
“Some of the funniest shots are in group chats with a more intimate group of friends,” Terrell said. “With Spill Groups, audiences, community organizations, book clubs, and group chats can connect to what’s happening in global and local culture simultaneously.”
AfroTech has always been a special place for Terrell. Two years ago, Terrell arrived at the conference, freshly laid off from Company X, taking calls and holding coffee meetings to try to push the company to success. Last year at AfroTech, Spill was toasting a $2 million seed extension round with Dom Pérignon. A few months ago, the company said actress and Spill user, Kerry Washington, came on board as an investor.
Terrell said, citing A Bloomberg The story goes that since November 6, there has been a rise in hate speech and targeted harassment on social media.
News of Spill’s growth comes ahead of the start of the terms of X’s new agreement on Friday, which, among other things, allows the platform to train AI models on user posts and force X to file lawsuits in a North Texas court, in favor of Musk. . High-profile names have already begun leaving the platform over these issues, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who said the litigation could protect X and punish its critics.
“The changes to (Agreement
Spill has had more than 500,000 downloads, the company told TechCrunch, and Terrell is excited about the future. “Spill is a product built specifically for this moment, and we’re excited to get it into the hands of communities looking for a safer, more rewarding and fun way to connect virtually.”
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