Social networking rivals continue to benefit from the user exodus from X. Spill, the social app founded by two former Twitter employees, released a statement claiming it has also seen a jump in users after the U.S. presidential election, following similar news by Bluesky, which gained more than 2 million users during that time.
The startup, backed by $2 million in seed funding from investors like Kapor Capital, Collide Capital, Kerry Washington, and others, has seen a 10x week-over-week increase in signups, according to Spill co-founder and CEO Alphonzo Terrell in a post on LinkedIn.
“This is the highest single week of growth since the platform launched in July of last year,” Terrell told TechCrunch on Thursday on the sidelines of the AfroTech Conference. “We’ve also seen a 4x increase in returning users, which is our highest since last summer,” he said.
In addition to Spill’s growth, Terrell shared that the startup is currently finishing up a seed round and is on track to cross $1 million in annualized revenue next year.
Spill’s increasing traction isn’t surprising: Social media users are fleeing X with complaints about misinformation and moderation issues. Many Black Twitter users, in particular, have become frustrated with the site (now called X) under Elon Musk and have started fleeing to Spill, believing it a “safer space” for the digital Black community.
To address this need, Terrell said his app focuses on not just bringing in new people, but making sure they come back repeatedly and invite their friends.
Since January, Terrell and his team have been working to make Spill more fun and keep users engaged. It has streamlined its user interface, added new feed options to see what is trending, improved content moderation, and added ways for commerce to exist on the platform by launching a Spill Shop. In June, the company launched its first game, Spades, which has been played more than 20,000 times, Terrell said.
At this week’s AfroTech Conference, Spill launched Groups, which will allow people to create sub-communities.
“Some of the funniest takes are in group chats with a more intimate group of friends,” Terrell said. “With Spill Groups, fandoms, community orgs, book clubs, and group chats can plug into what’s happening in global and local culture simultaneously.”
AfroTech has always been a special place for Terrell. Two years ago, Terrell arrived at the conference, freshly laid off from X, taking calls and coffee meetings to try and get the company off the ground. Last year at AfroTech, Spill was toasting a $2 million seed extension round with Dom Pérignon. A few months ago, the company said actress and Spill user Kerry Washington had come on as an investor.
“People are looking for ways to stay connected and find community,” Terrell said, citing a Bloomberg story that said since November 6, there has been a rise in hate speech and targeted harassment on social media.
News of Spill’s growth comes just ahead of X’s new agreement terms kicking in on Friday, which, among other things, lets the platform train AI models on users’ posts and forces lawsuits with X to be litigated in a northern Texas court, favorable to Musk. High-profile names have already started to leave the platform because of these issues, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who said the litigation issue could shield X and punish its critics.
“The [X agreement] rule changes are just the latest in a series of actions taken by some legacy platforms that alienate both users and businesses that drive online culture,” Terrell agreed.
Spill has been downloaded more than 500,000 the company told TechCrunch, and Terrell is excited about the future. “Spill is a product specifically designed for this moment and we’re excited to put it into the hands of communities looking for a safer, more rewarding, more enjoyable way to connect virtually.”