A New Search Engine Raises $1.1m To Let Obsessive Fans Dive Down Internet Rabbit Holes

Zehra Naqvi, 26, grew up arsenic an obsessive instrumentality woman successful nan 2010s. 

This was nan era of Tumblr and Twitter. She would enactment up each nighttime breaking down nan merchandise dates of Marvel movies aliases analyzing nan movements of One Direction members. She yet gained a corporate 250,000 followers crossed nan 2 platforms.  “Those early net rabbit holes taught maine really magical it felt to not conscionable devour civilization but to lend to it,” she told TechCrunch.

She went connected to commencement a institution astatine 12, study creation history astatine Columbia, and past became a user investor astatine Headline Ventures. (She besides writes nan celebrated consumer newsletter The Z List.) 

Now, she’s starting thing new: Lore, a hunt level for group to investigation and observe net obsessions. The institution has already raised $1.1 cardinal successful pre-seed funding. It is group to look from stealth connected October 6th.

It was a fewer months agone that she discontinue her occupation astatine Headline she decided to spell backmost to nan beginning. She recalled those early days of spiraling down net rabbit holes and became dismayed erstwhile she realized that each that investigation she spent hours successful nan pleasance pursuit of was gone. “How is it imaginable that I’ve spent astir apt good complete 500 hours reference astir Marvel movies complete 17 years and nary azygous level tracks my consumption,” she said.

Lore provides nan devices she wished “had existed erstwhile fandom felt for illustration location earlier nan net became fractured and joyless,” she said. It lets consumers spell down rabbit holes, providing links to instrumentality theories, interpretations, taste context, and easter eggs. According to Naqvi, it builds a personalized chart of obsessions; surfaces fandom and stan updates successful a feed; and gives monthly reports to users astir what their obsessions are astatine immoderate fixed time. 

“You tin zoom successful connected a azygous mentation aliases zoom retired and spot really each your fandoms connect,” Naqvi said. “It’s for illustration playing pinch knowledge alternatively of conscionable consuming it.” 

Naqvi is mum for now connected really nan merchandise works. She besides declined to stock immoderate imagery, saying that Lore’s charismatic difficult motorboat isn’t until adjacent year. “It’s our typical sauce,” she said of nan exertion powering nan product. 

She did say, however, that accelerated fandom depletion hasn’t really changed online, moreover though caller societal media channels person popped up for users to interact. “If anything, fandom is much fragmented than ever, and arsenic you get older, joyousness spiraling becomes harder to find clip for,” she said. As an investor, she began to recognize that possibly location didn’t request to beryllium immoderate much societal devices for fans. 

“There are plentifulness of places to yap,” she said, adding that truthful overmuch of societal media these days intends for speedy dopamine hits, doomscrolling, aliases feeds into “iPad kid behavior.” The adjacent type of societal media will beryllium quieter, she said, much human, and built astir passion and memory.

“Lore is our effort to rebuild nan Library of Alexandria for nan fandom age.” 

Naqvi is simply a solo laminitis and has already made her first 2 hires: a trading executive and an engineer. She described her fundraising process arsenic “obsessive.” Village Global led nan information pinch information from Precursor Ventures. 

“Lore is building nan merchandise fandoms person been waiting for,” Charles Hudson, managing partner astatine Precursor Ventures, told TechCrunch. “We envision it arsenic nan basal app for fandoms to gather, share, and deepen their engagement pinch nan things they love.”

Naqvi said nan caller superior will beryllium utilized to pull much users and proceed moving merchandise testing. 

“We wrapped up an research pinch complete 1,000 logins, astir 24,000 searches, and a corporate 8 days, aliases astir 200 hours consecutive of spiraling heavy into obsessions,” she said. “That level of engagement is benignant of insane and proves nan request for what we are building.” 

Lore is not without competition. In nan property of AI hunt engines, she said, group person drawn comparisons to Perplexity, while others statement it provides nan aforesaid usability arsenic Reddit aliases Wikipedia. “But nary of these spaces were built pinch fandom successful mind,” she said. 

“We are building a lurker-first space,” she continued, describing Lore arsenic “interactive, colorful, and designed for play. She hopes Lore will reconstruct immoderate joyousness to nan net and create a spot wherever obsession is not embarrassing but sacred. 

“Consumer AI doesn’t ever person to beryllium an supplier that helps you shop aliases a glorified adjunct aliases different societal app,” she said. “There are truthful galore much inventive and joy-first ways to use it, and Lore is proving that.”