Life360, a family communication and tracking app, has announced a new round of investment. The company will bring on board a few celeb investors and influencers, who will, together, form a new Family Advisory Council that will help to shape Life360's future product direction. Bryant Stibel led the round which was approximately $2.1million in size. Bryant Stibel is the co-founder of the firm with Jeff Stibel. Other participants included Vanessa Bryant and Joanna and Chip Gaines as well as Chris and Jada Paul and TikTok influencer Billy Perry. Nicole and Michael Phelps were also part of the round.Life360 has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since its inception two years ago. This round is about adding new stakeholders that can help Life360 attract more attention. According to the company, it is on track for $110 million in revenue for its app which is used by more than 28 million people monthly from 195+ countries. Life360s is currently being used by 916,000 families as of March 2021.Life360 and the celeb investors will create the Family Advisory Council. This council will draw upon the advisors' personal experiences and help shape feature development and future marketing strategies, Life360 states.As the company strives to make its app more accessible to all family members, and not just helicopter parents spying on their children, it has been working hard to improve its responsiveness to family members' concerns. Chris Hulls, CEO of Life360, took to TikTok last summer to hear teens' complaints about privacy. He then developed a privacy-respecting feature called "Bubbles" that shows a bubble around a general area, and not a blue dot showing a specific location. This feature is intended to give teens the freedom they desire, and help parents and children build trust.It appears that the new Family Advisory Council could streamline similar inputs from families to Life360.Hulls stated that investing and advising companies is a mature activity, and not something your kids would do. This is a rare opportunity for your children to help you with a product. These icons support our long-term vision to be the best provider of family safety services. Life360 is committed to creating a brand that feels relevant and meaningful for parents and children. He said that it was only natural for us to ask our investors to share the same spirit.Vanessa Bryant, a new investor and Vanessa Bryant (Kobes widow), noted that one of my passions was ensuring that children have the opportunities they deserve. Life360 makes it easy for families to carpool, pick-up and drop off, and provides locations to their children's schools, activities, and sports practices. I feel much more relaxed with my teenage driver because I have modern tools such as speed, driving information, and phone usage. My daughter's statement stated that she loves the fact that she can see her location and speed while driving, as well as when she is riding in the car.Although it is best known for its location services Life360 has worked hard to become more than just a family tracking app, considering the competition from mobile apps like Find My and services offered by mobile operators. Life360's family tools include identity protection, driving safety, emergency help, and other important functions.Life360 announced earlier this year that it had acquired Jiobit, a wearable device manufacturer, to increase its tracking capabilities to include family members who don't have phones like children or pets.According to the company, the $37 million deal will close within 30 days.Life360's appointment of Randi Zuckberg to its Board of Director earlier this year and last years addition of CFO Russell Burke, and CPO Jonathan Benassaya to the C-Suite to concentrate on the companys product offerings and business mode, follows the addition of these new investors.
