Camera App Dispo Starts Funding Talks with Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark

On Friday, Nitin Pachisia, co-founder of VC firm Unshackled Ventures, received a handful of digital invite codes to access photo-sharing app Dispo. There was one condition: Employees at Dispo “were explicit about not inviting a bunch of [venture capitalists],” said Pachisia, 41, an existing investor in the Los Angeles-based startup. Instead, Pachisia gave a code to his 12-year-old daughter and several of her closest friends.

Dispo, a photo-sharing app co-founded by YouTube star David Dobrik, wants to attract a younger generation that has grown up with smartphones, rather than targeting tech’s older elite. As the app grew in popularity in recent days, Dispo had calls with Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Benchmark, among others, about leading a Series A round of funding, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. It’s unclear who initiated the conversations. Separately, Dispo spoke to different investors who offered to value the young company at $100 million or more, according to a person close to Dispo.