Retro photo app lands $21 million from top venture investors
Retro, a photo-sharing platform created by former Instagram staff, has raised at least $21 million from investors such as Thrive Capital.
Lone Palm Labs, the developer behind Retro—a private photo and video sharing app for close friends—has closed a financing round of at least $21 million, according to recent filings. The round lists investors such as Thrive Capital, Scribble Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, Uncommon Projects and angel participant Dylan Field, CEO of Figma. Retro was founded in 2022 by former Instagram engineers Nathan Sharp and Ryan Olson and entered the market in 2023 as a simple alternative to larger networks.
The service now records roughly 1.7 million monthly active users and 7.8 million total downloads, with notable popularity in Japan, Taiwan, Germany and Spain. It operates without ads, offering a $36-annual premium subscription that unlocks video posting and broader content viewing. Lone Palm Labs employs seven people across New York and San Francisco and previously launched an AI-driven coloring-page app called Splat in 2025. The funding arrives amid a broader decline in venture deals for social-media startups since a 2021 peak.
Why it matters
The financing shows strong investor confidence in niche social apps despite a slowdown in overall social-media startup funding.
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