As more social media startups are founded and funded, at least one high-profile politician is looking to join the game: the former president donald trump.
The Trump-founded social network, Truth Social, launched Monday on the App Store, topping the “most downloaded” list.
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Truth Social was founded after Trump was kicked out of mainstream social media platforms including Twitter and Meta after the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Digital World Acquisition Corp, a specialized acquisition company that is expected to merge with Trump Media and Technology Group, also saw its price soar on Monday following the release of Truth Social. Despite the popularity, Truth Social’s rollout was reportedly slowed by application issues and long waiting lists, according to NRP.
Although Trump’s social platform is not venture capital-backed, it is one of a growing number of social media companies to form in recent years. Twitter and Facebook are still the dominant players, but startups like clubhouse and ICT Tac have grown in scale and moved audiences towards audio and video social experiences. And companies like To obtain and Speaking have appealed to more conservative circles due to their more lax content moderation policies.
VC-backed companies in the social media space raised nearly $5.7 billion in funding last year, more than double the roughly $2.5 billion they raised in 2020, according to Crunchbase data. Some of the biggest fundraisers of the past year have gone to India-based companies, including by Meesho $570 million Series F, and ShareChat’s $502 million Series E.
Drawing: Dom Guzman
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