VLMedia

What VLMedia does

VLMedia is a Turkish mobile application studio headquartered at ODTÜ TEKNOKENT in Ankara, founded in 2011, that develops and operates a portfolio of consumer social apps and games distributed globally through Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Huawei App Gallery. The company's product lineup includes Waplog (social networking/dating), Joi (high-revenue social app that achieved top US App Store ranking), Gaze (video chat social app), Drama Dash (mobile gaming app launched 2025), and Novelty (AI-powered novelty app launched 2025), collectively serving 200M+ users across 180 countries with 20-language localization.

The company operates a unified technology platform spanning modern Android (Kotlin/Java with Jetpack Compose) and iOS (Swift with MVVM) development, a high-traffic backend (PHP, Go, Python with Spark, MySQL, MongoDB, Elasticsearch), and proprietary big data infrastructure (Apache Spark, Hadoop, Kafka, Druid, Superset) that processes 550 million requests daily, delivers 25TB of media per day, and supports 650,000 minutes of real-time video chat per day. A dedicated Data team applies machine learning techniques for anomaly detection, predictive analytics, recommendation, and product optimization.

VLMedia generates revenue through advertising and in-app monetization across its consumer apps, leveraging paid acquisition on Facebook, Google, and Snapchat combined with organic App Store Optimization. The company is structured as a Turkish joint-stock company (A.Ş.), privately held, with R&D funding partnerships with TÜBİTAK, KOSGEB, and EU Commissions, and academic research support from METU. No external institutional investment rounds or acquisitions are disclosed.

Name

VLMedia

Legal name

VLMedia A.Ş.

Website

https://vlmedia.com.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

VLMedia is a Turkish mobile app studio operating social and gaming apps (Waplog, Joi, Gaze, Drama Dash, Novelty) for 200M+ users across 180 countries, monetizing through advertising and in-app purchases on global app stores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Consumer Social Applications

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Outsourced Art/Audio Production Services (2D/3D, Animation, VFX, Audio/VO) (MPAFAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Animation Services for VFX (Creature/Character, Crowd, Simulation Support) (MPADAHAF)

Keywords

• Mobile social apps
• Consumer mobile games
• In-app advertising monetization
• Video chat applications
• Cross-platform mobile development

Headquarters

HQ city

Ankara

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. App Monetization: VLMedia generates revenue through its social apps and games that are ranked in the top 10 highest revenue-generating social applications in USA, UK, and European countries. The company has maintained millions of actively engaged and loyal users for over 8 years in a competitive market.
2. Social Apps & Games: Consumer-facing mobile applications (Waplog, Joi, Gaze, Drama Dash, Novelty) distributed through app stores with in-app monetization features

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VLMedia is a mobile application studio that designs, develops, and distributes consumer-facing social networking and gaming applications for Android, iOS, and Huawei platforms. Its portfolio includes Waplog, Joi, Gaze, Drama Dash, and Novelty, served through Google Play, the Apple App Store, and Huawei App Gallery to more than 200 million users across 180 countries in 20 languages, with monetization through in-app advertising and freemium features.

Product overview

VLMedia is a mobile application development company that creates social apps and games. The product portfolio centers on five main applications: Waplog (social networking/dating), Joi (high-revenue social app), Gaze (video chat social app), Drama Dash (gaming app), and Novelty (AI-powered novelty app). These apps are distributed through Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Huawei App Gallery, supporting 20 languages and reaching 150+ million users across 180 countries. The company operates with a unified platform approach, with shared backend infrastructure, data analytics, and localization services supporting all products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Waplog: Social networking application for connecting people worldwide
• Joi
• Gaze
• Drama Dash
• Novelty

Products and services

• Waplog Social networking and dating mobile application that enables users to connect and communicate worldwide; one of VLMedia's flagship apps with millions of users across 180 countries.
• Joi Social networking mobile application that achieved top revenue ranking in the US App Store; VLMedia's high-performing flagship consumer social app.
• Gaze Social networking mobile application providing real-time one-on-one video chat capabilities; VLMedia's video-based social app serving millions of users worldwide.
• Drama Dash Mobile gaming application launched in 2025, expanding VLMedia's portfolio into casual mobile gaming beyond social networking.
• Novelty AI-powered mobile application launched in 2025 that leverages artificial intelligence to deliver novel content experiences to consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200M+ users across 180 countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Prof. İsmail Hakkı Toroslu (METU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic consultant from Middle East Technical University providing research guidance and academic support for VLMedia's R&D projects.
• Prof. Pınar Karagöz (METU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic consultant from Middle East Technical University contributing expertise to VLMedia's research and development initiatives.
• Naq Cyber B.V.minorOthersEuropean representative for data subject rights compliance (GDPR), based in Netherlands (Vlamingstraat 4, 2712BZ Zoetermeer), contact Nadia Kadhim.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Match Group: Owner of Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Match and other dating brands. A much larger incumbent in the same dating/social category where VLMedia's Waplog and Joi compete, with materially greater UA and R&D budgets.
• Snap Inc. Operator of Snapchat, a much larger social/communications mobile platform with overlapping video-chat and discovery functionality to Gaze. Comparable as a global ad-monetized consumer mobile social platform.

Direct peers

• Hello Group (MOMO): Chinese-origin mobile social and dating platform operating Momo and Tantan globally. Comparable as a multi-app social/dating business leveraging video, live streaming and paid virtual gifting for monetization.
• Yubo: France-based Gen Z social-discovery and livestreaming app. Directly comparable to Waplog/Joi as a horizontally-positioned social-discovery mobile app targeting younger global audiences with freemium monetization.
• MeetMe: US-listed social-discovery and livestreaming app company (formerly MeetMe, Skout, Tagged) serving similar demographics. Directly comparable as a global social-discovery mobile-app business monetized through ads and virtual gifting.
• Zynga: Major mobile and social gaming publisher (Words With Friends, Zynga Poker, CSR) now part of Take-Two. Comparable to Drama Dash as a mobile-gaming business monetized through IAP/ads and dependent on app-store distribution.
• Hyperconnect (Azar): Operator of Azar and Hakuna, real-time video-chat social apps serving similar global markets to Gaze. Directly comparable as a video-first social-discovery mobile app with cross-border user base and freemium monetization.
• Bumble Inc. Public dating and social-app company operating Bumble, Badoo and Fruitz across global markets. Directly comparable as a consumer mobile dating/social app business competing in the same categories as Waplog and Joi.

Emerging players

• Roblox Corporation: User-generated gaming and social platform with global reach. Comparable as a consumer mobile gaming platform competing for user time and wallet share against Drama Dash and VLMedia's social apps.

Regional players

• Yalla Group: UAE-listed operator of Yalla and Yalla Ludo, social audio-chat and casual gaming apps targeting Middle East and emerging markets. Comparable in monetization model (virtual gifting + ads) and emerging-market geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VLMediaCo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vlmedia/mycompany
• Instagraminstagram.com/vlmediaco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments5 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VLMedia