B
Born
Consumer Services · Berlin, Germany · Founded 2022
Evolving AI characters for social connection and play MoreLess
Born is a Berlin-based startup founded in 2022 that develops artificial intelligence-powered companion characters designed for social interaction and emotional connection. The company, officially SLAY GmbH, was founded by CEO Fabian Kamberi, along with co-founders Jannis Ringwald and Stefan Quernhorst. Born aims to create virtual friends that grow, evolve, and connect in a human-like manner, offering users a unique and engaging experience.
The company’s business model operates on a freemium basis. Its flagship product, Pengu, allows users to collaboratively raise a virtual pet with friends and family, distinguishing itself from traditional AI companions that focus on one-on-one conversations by emphasizing group interaction. While the core app is free, users can subscribe to a premium pass for additional features. Since its launch, Born has introduced five consumer social apps that have achieved number one rankings on the App Store globally, with Pengu attracting over 15 million users worldwide.
Born has successfully raised a total of $25 million in funding. A significant Series A funding round in September 2025 brought in $15 million, led by Accel with participation from Tencent and Laton Ventures. The company is also backed by prominent angel investors, including Ilkka Paananen (CEO of Supercell), Riccardo Zacconi (Founder of King), Scott Belsky (CPO at Adobe), and Alexander Pall of The Chainsmokers. This capital is intended to accelerate product development, expand the team, and establish a New York office to focus on AI research and marketing. The company plans to introduce new, culturally diverse AI characters targeting the 13-21 age demographic.
Keywords: AI companions, virtual pets, social gaming, mobile applications, character development, freemium model, digital interaction, emotional connection, collaborative gaming, Pengu app, Jannis Ringwald, Fabian Kamberi, Stefan Quernhorst, AI characters, social connection, virtual friends, mobile gaming, artificial intelligence, interactive entertainment, digital pets, subscription service, consumer social apps
Company overview
Born company information
The essential company record, classifications and operating signals in one place.
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2022
- Headquarters
- Berlin, Germany
- Employees
- 77
- Open positions
- 1
- Dealroom signal
- 89.7
Valuation & funding
Born funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERIES A✓Equity / VC | Sep 2025 | $15M | $60M | Tencent · Accel · Laton Ventures | ↗ |
| SEED✓Equity / VC | Dec 2024 | — | — | Accel · Tencent | — |
| SEED✓Equity / VC | Jun 2024 | $5M | $20M | Riccardo Zacconi · Accel · Ilkka Paananen · Scooter Braun | ↗ |
| SEED✓Equity / VC | Jan 2023 | $2.8M | $11M | Ilkka Paananen · The Twenty Minute VC · Kevin Weil · Mario Götze | ↗ |
Financials
Workforce over time
Available workforce history. Financial fields without reported data are omitted.
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 77 |
| 2025 | 77 |
| 2024 | 48 |
| 2023 | 24 |
Growth signals
Born website traffic
Latest recorded traffic for Born is 8.9K monthly website visits, down 19.1% over the last three months. Born's team grew 0% over the past year.
Hiring
Open positions at Born
Current openings linked to this company in Dealroom.
Comparisons
Born compared with similar companies
Dealroom’s weighted taxonomy model identifies the closest operating peers. Company identity and context stay open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available in the platform.
| Company | Headquarters | Status | Employees | Total funding | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 YallaMENA-based online social networking and gaming company |
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Operational | 186 | $21M | $14M |
 eRepublik LabsPart of Stillfront Group |
Dublin, Ireland | Acquired | |||
 MadboxCreating unique, accessible, and inclusive games that bring joy to millions worldwide |
Paris, France | Operational | |||
 KumuA powerful social media platform that brings the voices of Filipinos from all over the globe at the forefront |
Mandaluyong, Philippines | Operational | |||
 SiriusMag.plGaming portal focusing on browser MMORPGs, offering reviews, news, and insights for gamers, with upcoming exciting projects |
Wroclaw, Poland | Operational | |||
 Feenix GroupWe connect Brands & Sports to Youth Culture & Gaming |
Kilkenny, Ireland | Operational | |||
 Tangelo GamesEveryday is a day to play |
Barcelona, Spain | Operational | |||
 NEONHIVEA boutique PR and Marketing agency who specialise in videogames |
Glasgow, United Kingdom | Acquired |
Talent graph
Born's talent
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
Where Born has talent and traffic
team presence
In the news
Latest news about Born
Recent press, funding announcements, and product moves mentioning Born — open to read from the original sources.
Market sentiment
What the market is saying about Born
An AI-synthesized read of the highest-engagement posts about Born on X over the past 7 days. We rank by likes & retweets, ignore corporate channels, and surface the themes that broke out from real people.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
See Born’s full profile on Dealroom
Request a free trial to see the complete deal history, financials, people graph and growth signals.
Takes under a minute. Already use Dealroom? Log in.