The archive · Consumer Apps · Product decision · 2019–2024
BeReal's authenticity bet: #1 US App Store in 2022, €500M Voodoo exit in 2024
BeReal bet one unfiltered dual-camera post a day could beat curated feeds; it hit #1 in the US App Store, then plateaued and sold to Voodoo for €500M.
BeReal
What the business is
BeReal was a free social app that, once a day at a random time, prompted every user to snap a simultaneous front-and-back photo within two minutes and show friends what they were really doing.
Starting capital：Series A $30M (a16z/Accel, June 2021); Series B $60M at ~$587M valuation (2022); ~$90M total funding per The Verge
How it started
Founded in Paris in 2019 by former GoPro employee Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau, BeReal launched in December 2019. It revived the old dual-camera idea from Frontback with a once-a-day constraint, positioning itself as the anti-Instagram in a market of curated feeds.
What happened
BeReal raised a $30M Series A (a16z/Accel, June 2021) and a $60M Series B (2022) at a ~$587M valuation. Growth exploded in 2022: it broke into the US App Store top five in April, became the No. 1 non-gaming app by August, reached ~20M daily active users by October with 53M lifetime installs, and was named Apple's iPhone App of the Year. TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat cloned the format. Then growth stalled: Platformer reported monthly actives fell from 15M in October 2022 to 6M in March 2023, Similarweb put global MAU at 16.06M in September 2023 while BeReal claimed 25M DAUs, and with no business model and advertising resisted, the ~$90M it had raised was running out.
How it ended up
On June 11, 2024, French apps-and-games publisher Voodoo acquired BeReal for €500M (cash plus earnout, about $537M); Barreyat left after a transition, replaced by Wizz CEO Aymeric Roffé. In July 2024, 28 employees were laid off as Voodoo refocused on France- and Europe-based talent, and the app continues to run under Voodoo.
Background
BeReal was founded in Paris in 2019 by Alexis Barreyat, a former GoPro employee, and Kévin Perreau. Once a day, at a random time, every user got a push notification and a two-minute window to snap a simultaneous front-and-back photo, which disappeared after 24 hours. With no likes and no followers, it was pitched as the anti-Instagram: a place for unfiltered moments instead of curated perfection.
The bet paid off in 2022. BeReal broke into the US App Store top five in April, was the No. 1 non-gaming app by August, and Apple named it iPhone App of the Year. TechCrunch reported ~20M daily active users by October alongside a $60M Series B at a ~$587M valuation, on top of a $30M Series A from a16z and Accel. Then growth stalled: Platformer reported monthly active users fell from 15M in October 2022 to 6M in March 2023, and the company, which had resisted advertising, was running out of the ~$90M it had raised.
After a failed attempt to raise more funding, BeReal was acquired by French publisher Voodoo in June 2024 for €500M, with part of the price in earn-outs; co-founder and CEO Barreyat stepped down and Wizz's CEO took over. Voodoo said BeReal still had more than 40M active users, half of them using the app at least six days a week, and it cut 28 jobs a month later while refocusing on growth.
What has to be true
- The daily random-time ritual created urgency and novelty, which drove the 2022 chart-topping downloads — but novelty fades when the ritual starts to feel repetitive.
- The company deliberately rejected advertising and waited years to build a business model, so even ~$90M of funding was gone before growth recovered.
- Clones from TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat commoditized the dual-camera idea, making BeReal's differentiation a feature other apps could copy for free.
- Third-party data showed steep usage declines (15M to 6M MAU in five months), and investors lost interest at a moment when VC attention had shifted to AI.
What can be applied
Viral formats are not business models: BeReal resisted ads and monetization while growth cratered, so funding ran out and it sold at €500M — far below its peak hype.
Aftermath
As of July 2024, BeReal operates under Voodoo with Wizz CEO Aymeric Roffé as its new head; co-founder Alexis Barreyat left after a transition period. Voodoo said it would invest in product-led growth and eventually introduce ads, which the founders had opposed, plus possibly subscriptions or in-app purchases. The app remains live with more than 40M active users, strongest in the US, Japan and France, and 28 employees were laid off in July 2024 as part of a refocus on France- and Europe-based talent.
Sources
- Facebook is losing its grip as a 'Top 10' app as BeReal and TikTok grow
- Sources: BeReal raised $60M in its Series B earlier this year, now has 20M DAUs
- What went wrong at BeReal and what comes next
- Voodoo acquires BeReal to take authentic social network to new heights
- BeReal hit with layoffs following Voodoo acquisition
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