Lifelogging camera startup Narrative has bagged a new chunk of funding to fuel a U.S. push, taking in $8 million led by Khosla Ventures. Existing investors True Ventures and Passion Capital also participated in the round. It’s the first outside investment for the 2012-founded Swedish startup since last October, and brings its total funding to-date to $12.2 million.
The lightweight 5 megapixel Narrative Clip camera is designed to be worn on the person — for instance clipped to a lapel or the neck of a T-Shirt — and once set going it takes a photo at set intervals, such as 30 seconds or two minutes. Users can also double tap on the device to capture a shot on demand. The camera hardware has companion Android and iOS apps that let users view and organize their snaps — with the software automatically organizing shots into discrete sequences that can be searched and shared.
The small size and minimalist looks of the camera hardware helps avoid it looking too intrusive. Sure you’ll soon spot when someone is wearing it, but unlike a geektastic face-wearable like Google Glass, it’s easy to quickly forget the Narrative is watching — leading to more candid shots.
Narrative supplemented its original seed funding with a successful 2012 Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which raised more than $550,000, before attracting $3 million in VC funding last year with a plan to ramp up globally. The startup was formerly known as Memento but rebranded to Narrative at that time, as part of global marketing plans.
The latest funding for the startup will specifically be targeted at growing in the US market, with expansion of its local sales and retail efforts on the cards — including opening an office in San Francisco to act as its US base.
It will also use the funding to expand its team, and is currently hiring for several positions — including developer, sales, logistics, designer and ecommerce roles.
Commenting on the funding in a statement, Om Malik, partner at True Ventures and a Narrative board member said: “We are only just touching the surface of the creative uses for the Narrative Clip. We are thrilled to continue our support of this innovative company and its wonderful founding team.”