Travel storytelling app HearHere has raised US$3.2 million in seed funding for expansion and content development.
Camping World led the round into the app, which also received
strategic investment from AAA and participation from Pasadena Angels,
Seraph Group and others.
Co-founded by actor Kevin Costner, HearHere is a GPS-powered app that
provides stories based on a traveller’s geographic location and
interest.
Currently, it offers more than 8,880 stories across the continental
United States that are narrated by celebrities including Costner, John
Lithgow and Phil Jackson.
“When road-tripping, I found myself wanting to know more about my
surroundings than was available on signs and at roadstops,” says
HearHere co-founder and CEO Woody Sears.
“This funding round is momentous for the platform, and we are so
happy to be able to expand our reach nationwide and give more people
access to the rich untold histories of the US in an accessible,
user-friendly way."
Adds Costner: “I serendipitously met Woody through our children and
was immediately hooked on the vision and mission of HearHere. HearHere
prioritises authenticity and truth in our stories. We cover America's
past, which as you know, in addition to the rich stories, unfortunately
also involves a deep history of tragic events like the displacement of
Indigenous people, the treatment and history of African American people,
the experiences and influence of the Hispanic and Asian communities and
the many, many other groups of peoples who came to this country to
pursue all of the opportunities, hopes and dreams that it offered.
“We tell these stories because they are crucial to understanding the
full history of a location and our nation, and until those thousands
upon thousands of stories are chronicled and told, our history isn’t
complete."
Launched in 2020, HearHere claims it is the first app of its kind to use AI and geographic tracking to automatically play audio.