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The Journey Of Wine Recommendation App Vivino Which Raised 155 Million Dollars In Funding
Vivino, a startup and app provides recommendations for wine and also doubles as a marketplace for buying and selling wine. Vivino is now the world’s largest online wine marketplace. In their latest round of Series D funding, Vivino raised $ 155 million spurred by the rapid rise in their user base from 29 million in 2018 to 50 million currently. The funding will be used to improve its core technology and personalized recommendation engine, while also expanding its presence in key growth markets globally.
How did a startup which began as a wine rating app end up becoming as big as it is now? Read on to know about the incredible journey of Vivino.
Beginnings
Vivino was founded in 2010 by Danish entrepreneur Heini Zachariassen and Theis Søndergaard in Copenhagen, Denmark. It all began when Heini was at a local supermarket to purchase wine and could not decide which wine was good and which was bad. His only indication to make the choice was to go by looking at the labels on the bottles. It was then Heini realised that there was an opportunity to build something which lets users rate the wines which was similar to how Amazon lets users rate books and IMDB lets users rate movies.
ALSO READ: What Is Seed Funding And What Are The Sources For Seed Funding For Startups
Growth
When Vivino launched, there were hundreds if not thousands of apps available on the market which gave ratings for wines. Most of these apps were owned by people who are experts on wines and knew the market from top to bottom. Heini Zachariassen came from a software background and looked at the problem differently. After talking to users and customers Heini realised the problem boiled down to ‘is this bottle of wine good or bad?’
At the time of the launch, there was not much information available on the app. Vivino needed to look at the label on the wine bottle before providing information about the wine. Therefore, Vivino gathered as many labels as they could and added them to their database. The first breakthrough came when they offered a corkscrew for free to whoever uploaded the most number of label images thereby gaining 50,000 pictures. Vivino got as many wine labels as they could find and sent them to India. There people were manually looking at wine labels, researching information about those wines and adding as much information as possible to the app. Initially traction was slow, but when users saw the effort being put in adding the list of wines, organic growth slowly increased.
Vivino focussed on building the best product and not the perfect product. Considering that there would always be some wines missing, the goal was to go for the best product. Today they have information on 200,000 producers, 10 million wines and 1.3 billion photos of different wine labels in the app. Key priorities were based on three factors namely wine rating, price and the taste of the wine. Vivino built a machine learning tool which reads all the reviews and puts together a structured description of the wine taste. This feature turned out to be a huge hit.
Today Vivino established itself as a market leader in their space and has over 700 suppliers around the world. Vivino now has 50 million downloads and is hundred times bigger than the number 2 wine app Delectable.
Let us know in the comments if you have ever used Vivino or will begin using it after reading this article!
Leaving behind a high-paying job at JPMorgan, an Indian entrepreneur embraced a 70% salary cut to pursue true purpose and passion in the startup world. Disenchanted with what he described as a “robotic” corporate routine, he sought meaningful work that made a real impact. This pivotal decision marked the beginning of his new journey, one focused on value creation rather than titles and corporate perks.
Powered by resilience and fresh perspective, the entrepreneur launched his own startup, prioritizing innovation and hands-on solutions. The road was challenging, but his vision resonated with the market: the startup quickly gained traction and raised $6 million—an impressive acknowledgement of its potential in a competitive landscape. Every hard lesson from early setbacks and bootstrapping paid off in real customer growth and investor confidence.
Today, his journey stands as an inspiring example for professionals seeking authentic success outside the corporate grind. By trading comfort for creative freedom, he grew a venture that solves important problems, generates jobs, and builds wealth beyond just salary. For ambitious founders, his story highlights the power of risk-taking, adaptability, and relentless focus on impact in India’s thriving startup ecosystem.
Larry Page is a visionary technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Google, one of the world’s most influential companies. Born in 1973 in Michigan, Page grew up surrounded by computer technology, which inspired his passion for innovation from an early age. He studied computer engineering at the University of Michigan and later pursued his PhD at Stanford University, where he developed the revolutionary PageRank algorithm with Sergey Brin. This technology fundamentally changed the way search engines rank websites, making Google the most accurate and popular search engine globally.
The journey of Larry Page and Google began in 1998 when they officially launched the search engine from a small garage. Leveraging their unique algorithm, Google quickly surpassed competitors due to its ability to deliver highly relevant search results, transforming internet search forever. Under Larry Page’s leadership as CEO, Google expanded beyond search to launch groundbreaking products including YouTube, Gmail, and Google Maps, turning it into a global tech powerhouse that shapes how we access and interact with information online.
Larry Page later became the CEO of Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., driving innovation and investment in next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and healthcare solutions. His visionary leadership and commitment to technological advancement have cemented his legacy as one of the most influential figures in the tech industry. Today, Larry Page remains a key influencer in shaping the future of technology and digital innovation worldwide.
Bharti Airtel has launched the innovative “Airtel-Perplexity Blueprint,” partnering with Perplexity to provide over 360 million customers free access to Perplexity Pro for a year—a benefit valued at ₹17,000 ($200). This collaboration enables Airtel users across mobile, broadband, and digital TV to harness advanced capabilities in generative AI, including leading AI models like GPT 4.1, Claude, and Gemini, along with up to 300 Pro searches daily, image generation, document analysis, and personalized planning services. The move is seen as a milestone for telecom innovation and the democratization of AI in India, making powerful research and productivity tools accessible to a massive user base.
This strategic partnership positions Airtel as an “AI-first” telecom provider, allowing it to gain key insights into user interactions with artificial intelligence and adapt its networks for growing digital demands. For Perplexity, the tie-up grants exclusive access to India’s vast telecom audience, rapidly propelling the app to the No. 1 spot on the Indian App Store, surpassing global competitors like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Airtel customers can activate their complimentary subscription seamlessly through the Airtel Thanks App, under the Rewards and OTTs section, reinforcing Airtel’s commitment to digital customer empowerment.
The broader Indian startup ecosystem reflects both breakthrough innovation and hard-earned lessons, illustrated by the recent shutdown of Ohm Mobility, an EV financing startup. Despite multiple pivots and industry-leading investors, Ohm Mobility struggled to achieve a sustainable business model—a reminder of the challenges in market fit and adaptability. As AI adoption accelerates and startup realities evolve, industry leaders like Airtel and Perplexity are setting new standards, while others, like Ohm Mobility, offer valuable insights on resilience and the importance of business model flexibility in India’s dynamic tech landscape.
Google Launches Startup Hub in Hyderabad to Boost India’s Innovation Ecosystem
Indian Man Quits JPMorgan, Takes 70% Pay Cut to Launch $6 Million Startup
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