Canadian Startup Relay Raises $700,000 from Real Ventures and Others

Toronto-based Relay has raised $700,000 from a mix of Canadian and US investors, including Real Ventures and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.

Relay was part of Extreme Startup’s last “preccelerator,” a side program to its main accelerator that provides free coworking space for select startups. The mobile app allows users to search for pictures and videos—both their own and those found on sites such as YouTube—and deliver them to friends.

Self-described as “the chat app for people from the internet,” it’s designed to be the easiest way to share multimedia assets with friends, and a “relay” feature triggers virality amongst sharers.

Relay is the latest app in a wave of those targeted as mobile messaging. Although Canadians continue to send more and more texts, it’s clear that other forms of instant communication are gaining popularity among smartphone owners.