A social media app that feels like the old Instagram days raised $21 million

There's a societal media app I for illustration utilizing much than Instagram aliases TikTok — and it's attracted superior investor interest.

The app, called Retro, is an Instagram alternative for sharing photos and videos pinch adjacent friends aliases family.

The startup down the app, Lone Palm Labs, has raised astatine slightest $21 cardinal successful task superior funding, according to caller financial filings viewed by Business Insider. On the startup's website, the institution lists investors specified arsenic Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital, Scribble Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, and Uncommon Projects, arsenic good arsenic angels including Figma CEO Dylan Field.

Retro did not respond to requests for comment.

Retro was founded by erstwhile Instagram labor who wanted to build a "super elemental merchandise that's really conscionable for you and your friends," Nathan Sharp, Lone Palm's CEO, antecedently told Business Insider.

Sharp, who worked connected some Instagram and Facebook, teamed up pinch Ryan Olson, a longtime Instagram engineer, successful 2022 to recovered Lone Palm Labs. Split betwixt New York and San Francisco, Lone Palm Labs is simply a squad of 7 employees, according to the company's website. The institution launched different app successful 2025, called Splat, which tin make a coloring page for kids from photos utilizing AI.

While task superior is pouring money into AI, information centers, and SaaS companies, immoderate consumer tech startups building societal media apps person had to conflict bony and nail to get a portion of the pie. PitchBook information revealed a dependable diminution successful the number of deals backing societal startups since a highest successful 2021 — though full woody worth for 2026 is already rebounding aft a dismal 2025.

That situation makes Lone Palm Labs' haul particularly notable.

Social media for your real-life friends

Since Retro launched successful 2023, the societal app has added galore caller features. While it's chiefly a diary for documenting your regular life — I typically stock photos and memes from the week — it's expanded pinch shared photograph albums and a provender of throwbacks that carrier you backmost successful clip via your camera roll. You tin besides nonstop posts from the app arsenic literal postcards successful the mail.

Unlike Instagram aliases Facebook, I don't person hundreds of friends added connected the app. I person a thin societal chart of 20 friends.

According to information from marketplace intelligence patient Sensor Tower, Retro has an estimated 1.7 cardinal world monthly progressive users and 7.8 cardinal world downloads arsenic of Wednesday. Outside the US, the app has seen occurrence successful countries specified arsenic Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and Spain, according to Appfigures data.

The app presently has nary ads and uses a freemium exemplary for monetization. While it's free to make an account, Retro successful 2025 introduced a premium subscription that lets users unlock features specified arsenic posting videos and viewing different friends' contented without having to station their own. The subscription costs astir $36 a year.

As bigger societal media apps lose their social-ness and go much intermezo platforms, apps for illustration Retro are betting that group are consenting to salary for connection.