Mobli, an Israel-based photo- and video-sharing platform, announced Wednesday that it has received $60 million in funding from America Movil, the Latin American telecom led by Carlos Slim.
As part of the deal, America Movil will introduce Mobli to its users.
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"Mobli has developed a remarkable technology and this strategic alliance will allow America Movil to bring value added experiences for its users throughout the Americas," Slim said in a press release. "The Mobli team has shown extraordinary skills in creating a powerful and innovative product for its users."
Founded in 2011, Mobli has now received a total of $86 million in funding from an eclectic group that includes actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Lance Armstrong, Serena Williams and Kenges Rakishev, a Kazakh businessman.
Often described as a "visual search engine," Mobli lets you scrape your Facebook, Twitter and Google+ contacts for photos. If you give the app access to your Facebook account, you will see all the photos your friends posted, but no updates. Yossi Shemesh, Mobli's cofounder, said the company has more than 12 million users.
Shemesh added that one of the big differentiators between Mobli and Instagram is that the former lets you follow subjects and places, not just people.
"For example, people post this last few days to the November hashtag with a mustache selfie. You can follow that hashtag and updates will appear on your feed," he said.
The company also offers branded filters. Nike has expressed interest in that feature, which would allow the brand to add its swoosh to every photo taken at a Nike venue, Shemesh said.
Slim (pictured), who vies with Bill Gates for the title of richest man in the world, also invested $40 million in Shazam in July.
Image: Getty/Yuri Cortez