Openvibe Secures $800,000 Investment to Unify Open Social Networks

Openvibe, an innovative app designed to integrate multiple open social networks, has received a significant investment of $800,000. This funding round was led by Czech Founders VC and includes notable backers such as Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com and Tumblr, as well as Tensor Ventures. Czech Founders VC and former CTO of Mews, Jan Široky, also contributed separately from his firm.

Launched in 2024, Openvibe initially supported three prominent open social networks: Mastodon, Bluesky, and Nostr. Each of these networks operates on different protocols, making it challenging for users to navigate between them. Openvibe aims to provide a user-friendly gateway to the open social web, allowing users to stay connected with friends across various services in a unified timeline. The app also enables cross-posting to multiple networks simultaneously.

With the new capital, Openvibe’s CEO, Matej Svancer, plans to accelerate product development, expand the user base, integrate with additional social platforms, and refine the user interface. Automattic’s investment is particularly noteworthy, as the company has a history of supporting open-source projects designed to compete with Big Tech.

Openvibe’s fundraising success reflects growing investor interest in apps leveraging new open social protocols. This trend is exemplified by recent investments in Bluesky, which raised $15 million in its Series A round last fall. Openvibe is currently available as a free app on iOS and Android, with plans to introduce a subscription model for future revenue generation.

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/28/automattic-and-others-back-openvibe-an-app-thats-unifying-the-open-social-web/.