Russian video app Coub raises $2.5m investment

Russian video-sharing start-up Coub has won $2.5m of financing from Vaizra Capital, a fund headed by Lev Leviev and Vyacheslav Mirilashvili, co-founders of popular Russian social network VK.

Coub’s Gif-like video service lets users create looped footage of up to 10 seconds long with the option of adding an entire music track to the clip. In an interview with The Calvert Journal last year, co-founder Anton Gladkoborodov described Coub as “like the Harry Potter photos that come alive”. The tool was launched in 2012, at around the same time as similar services such as Vine, Instagram Video and MixBit.

Leviev said the investment would be used to expand the service globally. He said: “Coub is already an international company that has managed to create a simple idea with sophisticated technology, which has won over an audience of millions and created a completely new media format. The company is run by people who have a real chance to conquer the world market, so we decided to support them in this.”

Leviev and Mirilashvili were the first investors of VK, selling their aggregate stake of 48% in 2013 to investment fund UCP.