Berlin – Germany-based startup Born, which specializes in AI-powered social applications, has secured a $15 million investment round led by Laton Ventures from Turkey, alongside Tencent and Accel. Laton Ventures had also participated in Born’s seed funding round.
Born is on a mission to create AI companions that enter people’s lives at the right time and remain by their side for a lifetime. These companions enable users to chat, play, and build bonds in ways that feel natural, fun, and lasting. Positioned at the intersection of artificial intelligence and consumer social experiences, Born is building emotionally engaging and culturally meaningful connections.
The new funding will allow Born to accelerate its product roadmap, recruit top AI talent, open a New York office, develop new characters for Pengu, and launch a new AI-based social product that is already generating strong interest.
The company is backed by notable investors such as Ilkka Paananen, Co-Founder of Supercell; Riccardo Zacconi, Co-Founder of King; Scott Belsky, former Chief Product Officer at Adobe and partner at A24; and Alexander Pall of The Chainsmokers. Accel had led Born’s seed round, with Tencent and Laton Ventures joining its Series A.
Founded in 2022, Born has already launched a social application that ranked #1 worldwide five times. Its flagship AI character, Pengu, is a unique experience “raised” collectively by friends and families, now reaching over 15 million users globally. In the U.S., Pengu became the largest AI character app with its own intellectual property rights.
Including this round, Born has raised a total of $25 million, further strengthening its leadership in consumer AI. By moving beyond simple chatbots, the company is creating a new generation of social AI experiences—emotionally rich, socially meaningful, and culturally relevant—that integrate seamlessly into users’ daily lives.
