Raises over $25M in Equity and Credit from Proven Investors
App that Helps Consumers Monetize their Phone Conversations Grew to #2 Free App on the U.S. App Store within 8 Days Following Launch
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Neon, a consumer platform that allows people to monetize their personal data, today announced that it has raised over $25 million in combined equity and credit from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Upper90, Upfront Ventures, and other investors. This new capital will bring Neon’s total funding to nearly $27 million, following a $1.5 million pre-seed round that was led by Upfront, with participation from Wilson Sonsini and Xfund.
“People’s data gets bought and sold every day, and we think it’s time they get their fair share,” said Neon founder and CEO Alex Kiam. “Neon gives consenting users the opportunity to earn money from their conversations, and provides AI companies with rich, diverse training data across audio and video interactions to enhance their models. We are delighted that Lightspeed and other leading investors with such impressive track records share our vision and are committed to helping Neon meet the extraordinary demand for our data.”
Neon’s initial mobile app became the #2 free app on the App Store in the U.S. within eight days of launch. The company has since expanded into other modalities besides voice. Neon’s current offerings to AI labs include studio grade, natural conversational audio, 720p video call recordings, and more. Neon has licensed over 400,000 total hours of audio to five AI labs since closing its first deal in January.
“AI is creating many new sub industries and product offerings,” said Amber Yang, Partner at Lightspeed. “Alex and his team have identified a clear gap in the market: users are not profiting from the sale of their data, and AI companies have large demands for voice data to train their models that they struggle to find supply for. Neon offers a truly mutually beneficial solution, and we are delighted to lead its seed financing.”
Neon only records interactions when all participants are consenting Neon users. All personally identifying information, including names and phone numbers, is removed before recordings are sold to vetted data partners. To date, Neon has made over 100,000 payments to users.
About Neon
Neon is the app that pays you for your personal data. Once you opt in, Neon processes your interactions, removes all personal info, and sells anonymized audio and video data to trusted tech companies training AI. Learn more at neonmoneytalks.com.
Contacts
Media Contact
Kekst CNC: [email protected]
