Benchmark invested in another social network: Video app Marco Polo

VC firm Benchmark has a strong track record of finding and investing in the best social media companies around — the firm has board seats at Twitter, Snapchat and Nextdoor, and also invested in a little-known photo-sharing app you may have heard of called Instagram.

Now the firm has its next bet: Marco Polo, a small video messaging app run by a company called Joya Communications.

Benchmark was the lead investor on Marco Polo’s recently closed funding round, according to numerous sources who also say that Benchmark partner Bill Gurley is expected to join the startup’s board.

Marco Polo raised around $20 million, and is now valued somewhere near $100 million post-money, according to multiple sources. Gurley, who is also a board member at companies like Nextdoor and Uber, didn’t reply to numerous emails and calls. We weren’t able to get in touch with Joya, either. (TechCrunch reported that Gurley had invested in October, but didn’t know details.)

Update: A number of previous Joya investors, including Stanford’s StartX Fund, Matrix Partners and Battery Ventures, also invested in this round, according to people familiar with the deal.

The app seems pretty simple — users can send each other short video messages with text or filters added on. That’s about it. Some people must be using it, though. Since summer, Marco Polo has routinely been ranked as a top five social media app in the U.S. App Store, according to App Annie.

App Annie

The video messaging space is popular right now, and industry sources point to Snapchat as the reason. As Snapchat has become more and more public with features like Discover and Stories, investors are looking for products that might be able to use the same video messaging idea in a more intimate way. House Party is one example. Sequoia Capital also invested in a similar video messaging app called Tribe just last month.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We have a request

Vox's journalism is free because we believe that everyone deserves to understand the world that they live in. That kind of knowledge helps create better citizens, neighbors, friends, parents, consumers and stewards of this planet. In short, understanding benefits everyone. You can join in on this mission by making a financial gift to Vox today. Reader support helps keep our work free, for everyone. Will you join us?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$95/year

$120/year

$250/year

$350/year

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $120/year

Yes, I'll give $120/year

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via