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Whisky app Bevvy has announced the successful closing of a $1.5 million seed funding round, aiming to support its expansion into new market regions. The new investment primarily comes from Scotland-based angel investors, existing shareholders and a Denver (US)-based family office. The company has begun to grow its presence in the US, expanding its catalogue of Bourbon bottles. The US investment was partly made under the condition of a commitment to being live and active in the US market by the middle of 2024. Laurie Black, co-founder & head of whisky at Bevvy, commented: "Having already established the leading position in the digital whisky space; this new capital allows us to cement our market share and grow our consumer audience into new territories. We're hugely excited to be heading Stateside in 2024." Users can use the app and the camera on their mobile phones to scan the label of any whisky bottle and receive tasting notes as well as valuations. At its heart is a 200,000-strong database of whiskies from releases over the past 120 years. Once a bottle is scanned, the whisky’s “profile” receives content from distilleries and bottlers, pricing data and expert tasting notes. Greg Gormley, finance director for Bevvy, added: "In one of the most challenging fundraising environments I can recall, Bevvy's successful raise underlines its dominant and growing position as a critical tool among whisky consumers and collectors. The interest and demand in whisky are growing at a pace not seen before. However, the market is fragmented and disjointed, with an absence of easy-to-access tools and information." He continued: "There is a considerable hole in the market for a value-add, information-led app that allows a bottle of whisky to be fully understood, in terms of taste, history and pricing. Bevvy is addressing this need and is finding its audience is both engaged and growing at a phenomenal pace." Bevvy is now working with bars and auctioneers, allowing bars to create a live menu and auctioneers can give potential sellers estimated values for their whisky collection if they decide to auction their bottles. Co-founder Black added: "This is an extraordinarily exciting time for us; we see thousands of bottle scans each and every week and we are gaining a fascinating insight into user taste preferences, price trends and industry strengths and weaknesses. Bevvy finds itself at the heart of a major shift in how consumers and collectors engage with this multi-billion-dollar market. 2024 is going to be a year of spectacular development and innovation."