KLIPY, a company that builds an API layer for integrating GIFs, memes, stickers, clips and AI-generated content into digital platforms, has raised $3.8 million and joined Google's AI Futures Fund, an investment program backed by Google, the technology company owned by Alphabet. KLIPY's platform is used by nearly 10,000 developers and 40,000 creators, and the company said its API processes billions of requests weekly. Beyond content search and creation, KLIPY is also building monetization tools, including contextual advertising features designed to let partner apps generate revenue while maintaining control over content.
KLIPY's API is integrated into platforms including BeReal, a photo-sharing social app, Baidu, the Chinese search and technology company, Canva and Figma, both design software platforms, and Microsoft SwiftKey, a keyboard application from Microsoft. The company was founded by Givi Beridze, Frank Nawabi and Waska Chaduneli, who collectively have founded seven companies. Nawabi previously founded Tenor, a GIF-sharing platform that Google acquired in 2018 and scaled to more than a billion users.
Givi Beridze, KLIPY co-founder and CEO, described the shift in communication patterns driving demand for the platform: "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." He added a separate point about the durability of meme culture for brands: "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."
Frank Nawabi, KLIPY co-founder and board member, connected the company's direction to his earlier work at Tenor: "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."
Jérémie Colin of BeReal described the integration experience from a partner's perspective: "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."
Jonathan Silber, co-founder and director of Google's AI Futures Fund, framed the investment around a broader shift in how people engage with content online: "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."
