DST Global

DST Global, established in 2009, is a venture capital firm headquartered in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, with additional offices in Menlo Park, New York, London, Beijing, and Hong Kong. The company specializes in late-stage investments in the internet sector, focusing on rapidly growing ventures. Its investment portfolio spans various sectors, including software, TMT, fintech, and e-commerce, with a global investment strategy.

Saurabh Gupta

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Verdi Israelian

Partner

Bobby Shellworth

Principal

Tom Stafford

Co-Founder

Past deals in Social Network

Whatnot

Series E in 2025
Whatnot Inc., established in 2019 and headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, operates an online marketplace for buying, selling, and discovering a wide array of products, with a focus on authenticated Funkos and collectibles. The company's platform facilitates live shopping experiences, combining community engagement with entertainment to create a unique shopping environment. It verifies every product sold to ensure authenticity, fostering trust among collectors and enthusiasts who use the platform to safely buy, sell, and connect with one another.

Xiaohongshu

Secondary Market in 2024
Xiaohongshu, founded in 2013 and based in Shanghai, China, is a lifestyle sharing platform that allows users to share experiences through text, images, and videos. Initially aimed at assisting overseas travelers with shopping, it has transformed into a vibrant community focused on various lifestyle areas, including cosmetics, fashion, food, travel, entertainment, reading, fitness, and childcare. The platform serves as a social e-commerce space where users can post their favorite products, share shopping experiences, and discover global merchandise, particularly in luxury and beauty sectors. By fostering user-generated content, Xiaohongshu encourages a collaborative environment for lifestyle enthusiasts to exchange insights and recommendations.

Yolk.fm

Pre Seed Round in 2024
Yolk.fm is a social platform that allows users to chat rather than send text messages.

Lapse

Series A in 2024
Lapse is a social disposable camera application that allows users to capture and share photos within private group chats. The app emulates the experience of traditional disposable cameras by enabling groups to take a set of 36 photos, referred to as 'rolls.' Once the first photo is taken, the roll becomes accessible to group members for a limited time, fostering a sense of shared experience and nostalgia. This innovative approach encourages users to engage with friends while creating temporary memories that are exclusive to their group.

Amo

Venture Round in 2023
Amo is a social networking platform.

Whatnot

Series D in 2022
Whatnot Inc., established in 2019 and headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, operates an online marketplace for buying, selling, and discovering a wide array of products, with a focus on authenticated Funkos and collectibles. The company's platform facilitates live shopping experiences, combining community engagement with entertainment to create a unique shopping environment. It verifies every product sold to ensure authenticity, fostering trust among collectors and enthusiasts who use the platform to safely buy, sell, and connect with one another.

Super

Series C in 2022
Super is a social commerce platform that enables leaders to become self-made entrepreneurs and builds logistics networks. The company features Superagen, an agent-led commerce group buying that enables community leaders to become retailers within their communities.

BeReal.

Series B in 2022
BeReal is a photo-sharing application that aims to foster genuine connections among users. The app operates by sending a simultaneous notification to all users on a selected list at a random time, prompting them to capture and share a photo within a limited timeframe. This unique approach encourages users to present authentic moments from their daily lives, distinguishing BeReal from traditional social media platforms that often emphasize curated content. By focusing on spontaneity and realism, BeReal seeks to enhance interpersonal relationships and provide a fresh perspective on friendship in the digital age.

Betterfly

Series C in 2022
Betterfly is a purpose-driven wellbeing and insurance platform founded in 2018 and based in Santiago, Chile. The company aims to enhance the health and wellbeing of organizations and their employees while fostering positive community impact. Betterfly's innovative platform rewards individuals for adopting healthy habits by providing life insurance coverage that increases daily. Additionally, every healthy activity is converted into a charitable donation, enabling businesses to integrate corporate wellness and social responsibility into their employee benefits programs. This unique approach not only promotes individual health but also encourages corporate engagement in community support.

Betterfly

Series B in 2021
Betterfly is a purpose-driven wellbeing and insurance platform founded in 2018 and based in Santiago, Chile. The company aims to enhance the health and wellbeing of organizations and their employees while fostering positive community impact. Betterfly's innovative platform rewards individuals for adopting healthy habits by providing life insurance coverage that increases daily. Additionally, every healthy activity is converted into a charitable donation, enabling businesses to integrate corporate wellness and social responsibility into their employee benefits programs. This unique approach not only promotes individual health but also encourages corporate engagement in community support.

BeReal.

Series A in 2021
BeReal is a photo-sharing application that aims to foster genuine connections among users. The app operates by sending a simultaneous notification to all users on a selected list at a random time, prompting them to capture and share a photo within a limited timeframe. This unique approach encourages users to present authentic moments from their daily lives, distinguishing BeReal from traditional social media platforms that often emphasize curated content. By focusing on spontaneity and realism, BeReal seeks to enhance interpersonal relationships and provide a fresh perspective on friendship in the digital age.

Kutumb

Series A in 2021
Kutumb is a social platform tailored for Indian communities, enabling users to establish connections within their neighborhoods. The platform allows members to create applications that facilitate sharing of news and updates, as well as discussions on various topics. It serves as a network for millions of individuals, providing a safe space for users to form social groups based on shared culture, beliefs, interests, and professions. Through Kutumb, users can explore content, connect with others, and engage in meaningful communication, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Super

Series B in 2021
Super is a social commerce platform that enables leaders to become self-made entrepreneurs and builds logistics networks. The company features Superagen, an agent-led commerce group buying that enables community leaders to become retailers within their communities.

Clubhouse

Series C in 2021
Clubhouse is a social media company specializing in audio-based interactions. It facilitates casual, drop-in conversations among users worldwide through group chats, fostering connection-building and networking. Users can join live, audio-only rooms, engage in discussions, or simply listen to ongoing conversations, creating a dynamic and spontaneous social experience.

Maimai

Series D in 2018
Maimai is a China-based career and social networking platform established in 2013 by Lin Fan. With tens of millions of users, it has become the most widely used professional social networking site in China, surpassing LinkedIn. The platform operates as a real-name workplace social network, allowing professionals to engage through live broadcasts, group chat rooms, and a news feed. Maimai facilitates the exchange of online contacts and job recruitment, promoting collaboration and enhancing work efficiency among its users.

Soul APP

Series B in 2018
Launched in 2016, Soul App is now one of the leading social networking applications in China. With a robust user base among Chinese Gen Z, Soul was designed to empower self-value expression and foster genuine relationships based on interest graphs and AI algorithms. Soul aspires to build a virtual social playground for its users to socialize, connect and maintain relationships free from the geographic and social constraints. Soul is the first social networking platform in China that requires all users to interact through avatars, and has a unique business model driven by the integration of intensive user interactions and an engaging community. Soul distinguishes itself from other peers with focus on virtual identities, open-ended relationships based on interest graphs, extensive user generated content (UGC), decentralized content distribution and its proprietary technologies. Nowadays, Soul pioneers in embracing the AI technologies in the social networking industry to meet the evolving social demand from the younger generation. In 2020, Soul kicked off its AIGC technology R&D. In 2023, Soul launched a proprietary large language model (LLM), Soul X, and has seamlessly embedded AI capabilities across use cases on its platform, which epitomizes Soul's product philosophy of the “Synergic Model-application Interplay”.

Momo

Series C in 2013
Momo operates a free location-based instant messaging application that allows smartphone users to connect with people nearby, share texts, audio notes, and photos, and find like-minded individuals. Since its launch in August 2011, Momo has amassed 80 million users, with 13 million daily active users and 39 million monthly active users. The platform facilitates one-on-one and group conversations, generating an average of 500 million messages daily. Momo Inc., headquartered in Beijing, China, provides a mobile-based social and entertainment platform that includes features like live videos, short videos, social games, and other interactive experiences to enhance social relationships based on locations, interests, and recreational activities. Founded in 2011, the company aims to connect users through its Momo mobile application and related services.

Momo

Series B in 2012
Momo operates a free location-based instant messaging application that allows smartphone users to connect with people nearby, share texts, audio notes, and photos, and find like-minded individuals. Since its launch in August 2011, Momo has amassed 80 million users, with 13 million daily active users and 39 million monthly active users. The platform facilitates one-on-one and group conversations, generating an average of 500 million messages daily. Momo Inc., headquartered in Beijing, China, provides a mobile-based social and entertainment platform that includes features like live videos, short videos, social games, and other interactive experiences to enhance social relationships based on locations, interests, and recreational activities. Founded in 2011, the company aims to connect users through its Momo mobile application and related services.

Instagram

Series B in 2012
Instagram, established in 2010, is a San Francisco-based company that develops a free, user-friendly photo and video-sharing application. It enables users to capture, edit with custom-built filter effects, and share their content on various social networks. Compatible with iOS and Android devices, Instagram fosters self-expression and interest discovery. In 2012, Facebook acquired the company.

X (formerly Twitter)

Series G in 2011
Twitter is a social networking platform that facilitates the exchange of micro-blogs, known as "tweets," which can be up to 280 characters in length. Launched in 2006, it allows users to send and read tweets through various means, including web browsers, SMS, and mobile applications. With over 400 million monthly visitors and 255 million active users, Twitter serves as a global real-time communications platform. Its diverse user base includes world leaders, athletes, entertainers, and news organizations, contributing to its role as a significant source of information and engagement. The platform is available in more than 35 languages and has a strong presence in major cities worldwide, with headquarters in San Francisco and offices across the United States and internationally.

ICQ

Acquisition in 2010
ICQ is a company that focuses on providing a global online communications platform through its instant messaging service. It offers a range of applications for various platforms, including desktop clients for PC, Mac, and Linux, as well as mobile applications for iOS. The company specializes in messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, delivering custom-made software solutions to enhance social communication. ICQ aims to create a localized yet expansive community for users to connect and communicate effectively.

Zynga

Series B in 2009
Zynga Inc., established in 2007, is a leading global developer, publisher, and operator of social games. The company's portfolio spans over 6 billion downloads across 175 countries, featuring popular franchises like FarmVille, Words With Friends, and Zynga Poker. Zynga's games are played on mobile platforms (iOS, Android) and social networking sites, with revenue generated through game downloads, in-game purchases, and advertising services. The company's headquarters are in San Francisco, California, with additional locations in North America, Europe, and Asia.
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