HomeFundingStockholm-based Scapin’ raises €2.9 million for its virtual interactions platform

Stockholm-based Scapin’ raises €2.9 million for its virtual interactions platform

Today Scapin’, a new social communications platform for the virtual age, has secured around €2.9 million pre-seed funding in a round led by European early-stage investor Creandum, an early backer of Spotify, Klarna, iZettle, Depop and Kry/Livi,. The round also had participation from Heartcore Capital, the consumer-focused venture capital firm that, among others, invested in GetYourGuide, Tink and Prezi.

Founded this year, Scapin’ envisions vastly improved social interactions for situations when people can not be in the same room. Avatars, spatial interfaces and virtual interactivity offer significant upgrades to the digital apps being used for connecting online today. Scapin’s mobile-first product will allow anyone to create customized virtual spaces, fill them with virtual goods, craft artifacts to share with others, and ultimately hang out with friends or invite the public.

Scapin’ believes that focus on presence, expression and interactivity enables new ways of connecting over conversation, games and content. It envisions taking mobile dating matches out for a virtual night out before meeting in person, or meeting a global group of fellow chess enthusiasts instead of only commenting on each others’ posts.

The company is led by Swedish co-founders Joachim Hedenius (co-founder and former CTO of Kry/Livi) and Leo Nilsson (former CPO of iZettle and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Creandum). The two entrepreneurs founded the company in the middle of the pandemic in early 2021, when the time spent on digital devices was at an all-time high. While this period has shed additional light on society’s collective loneliness, feeling a lack of connection and belonging online has been prevalent for years. While emerging from lockdowns into a hybrid world, online interactions will remain an important part of daily lives and Scapin’ is on a mission to tackle its unpleasant experience and create a virtual world that will be both socially rewarding and immersive by taking a lot of inspiration from the gaming industry.

Scapin’ lives in the realm of three massive and growing markets that are converging: social, gaming, and digital assets. Joachim, co-founder Scapin’, said: “Hundreds of millions of people are already hanging out in virtual worlds and eventually most of us will. I am so excited to contribute to this development with Scapin’ and enable people to connect virtually and strengthen their social connections in a fun and meaningful way.”

Leo, co-founder Scapin’, also commented: “Scapin’ will bring a new feeling of virtual presence and expressiveness that today’s social apps are nowhere near. Making virtual socializing simple and accessible for everyone is at the core of our mission to ultimately improve how we build relationships.”

Sabina Wizander, Partner at Creandum, spoke about the investment: “At Creandum, it’s part of our DNA to keep talented entrepreneurs close to us and hence we couldn’t be more excited to back this strong founding team of both excellent product and company building experience. We were not only convinced by the founders’ sheer creativity when it comes to the overarching concept but also by society’s need for this product: The integration of fundamental human relationships into the virtual world has never been dealt with properly before leaving many internet users feeling lonely. This is an early-stage, unique opportunity for redefining how we connect with each other online in the future.”

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Charlotte Tucker
Charlotte Tucker
Charlotte is the previous Editor at EU-Startups.com. She spends her time scouting the next big story, managing our contributor team, and getting excited about social impact ventures. She has previously worked as a Communications Consultant for number of European Commission funded startup projects.
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