Israeli voice-based social networking startup HearMeOut has filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to raise at least A$5.5 million on the ASX.
"The Australian" reports that there is strong demand for the Israeli startup's shares and that the company is likely to raise A$6.5 million at a company value of A$13 million.
The Tel Aviv based company has dubbed itself the "audio version of Twitter."
"The Israeli government and the Australian government decided on collaboration of connecting Australian investors and Israeli tech," HearMeOut co-founder Issy Livian told The Australian. "The Australian delegation came to Israel, they met with us, really liked what we were doing and they flew us over there to meet with potential investors and we got very good vibes."
Livian added, "Our brokers are saying we have demand well above what we are asking for, we will find out in a few days, but we got very good feedback from people."
Livian expects the IPO to take place in December and says that the capital raised will be used for marketing and R&D of the startup's core app, which enables users to post and listen to 42-seconds-long sound bites. He told "The Australian" that its focus on voice is tied to a push for "authenticity", with the area seen underdeveloped in the crowded social networking space.
Livian said, "We feel voice really conveys tone and emotion and it’s the last digital signature that’s really hard to fake. The big players in the market are educating consumers to use their voice in the social world and we are riding this wave and feel now is the right time to join and become the category leader in this field. That’s our ambition."
Ford will is pre-installing the app into its AppLink dashboard and Livian reports positive feedback in beta testing.
He said, "The process with Ford was very unique, it’s very promising and we really have a lot of faith in it."
He added, "It’s synched with Facebook and Twitter so you could actually drive in your car and be sharing content on Facebook and Twitter for the first time in a safe way. This gives us great leverage to go out to the market."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 20, 2016
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