Clyx Launches in Los Angeles to Help Residents Build Real-World Friendship and Community
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / February 23, 2026 /Clyx, the fast-growing friendship and community platform designed to help people build real-life social connections, officially launches in Los Angeles this February. After early success in London, Miami, New York and Reykjavik and following a $14 million Series A funding round, Clyx is expanding to bring in-person community and friendship matchmaking to one of the U.S. 's largest and most dispersed cities.
In a time when many people are digitally connected but socially isolated, Clyx helps users discover local events and communities, and turn shared interests into real life friendships. The platform aggregates hundreds of local communities - from book clubs to trail hikes, running groups to creative meetups - putting Los Angeles residents directly into experiences where they can meet like-minded people and make new friends.
In its initial markets, Clyx has facilitated more than 500,000 friendships through real-life events and is growing exponentially - now on track to reach 1 million community event attendees by the end of the year. 88% of new users attend an event within their first two weeks of joining, and 93% rate their AI-powered matches as highly relevant - demonstrating how neuroscience-informed technology translates into meaningful, real-world relationships. The company 's Series A funding - led by Reid Hoffman 's Blitzscaling Ventures with participation from notable investors including Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail and Formula 1 champion-turned-investor Nico Rosberg - validates growing demand for technology that supports real human connection.
On Clyx, users can discover events aligned with their interests, join community gatherings, and see what their friends are planning - making it easy to participate, invite others, and build ongoing social connections.
Clyx provides dual functionality:
Discover Local Events & Meet People: Users can explore events happening across Los Angeles, see what friends are planning, and join activities that match their interests - making it easier to meet new people and build relationships.
Connect Brands & Communities: Clyx also serves as a platform for communities and brands to find each other. Community organizers can connect with aligned brands for support, and brands can discover highly relevant and ideologically aligned groups to collaborate with in meaningful ways.
"At its core, Clyx exists because human connection matters, " said Alyx van der Vorm, Founder and CEO of CLYX. "But in a city like Los Angeles - sprawling, diverse, and filled with people who often feel isolated despite being surrounded by millions - it can be especially hard to find 'your people. ' Clyx is designed to lower the barriers to belonging: to help people not just scroll through life, but step into it - together. Our goal is to become the number 1 friendship app globally by 2030. "
Founded in 2020 by Oxford and Harvard-educated neuroscientist Alyx van der Vorm, Clyx tackles the loneliness epidemic affecting young adults today. Van der Vorm 's academic work in computational neuroscience and the science of social connection informs the app 's mission - to make real-world social interaction as seamless as digital scrolling.
Clyx is available for download now in Los Angeles, with plans to launch in 10 new cities throughout 2026 - including Austin, San Diego, and Dubai - as it continues scaling its global community network. Other major cities are set to follow as part of a planned $40 million Series B round this year, aimed at making the company the world 's leading friendship app and fostering millions of new connections globally.
About Clyx
Clyx is the next-generation friendship platform built for Gen Z - designed not to capture attention, but to create real-world connection. Using curated IRL events, gamified discovery, and behavioral science, Clyx helps people find friends, make plans together, and build social momentum offline. Where most platforms optimize for likes, followers, and screen time, Clyx is building something entirely different: infrastructure for belonging.
Founded by solo Gen Z founder Alyx van der Vorm - a Harvard and Oxford-trained neuroscientist - Clyx is grounded in research around trust, group psychology, and emotional intimacy. Alyx 's lived experience of growing up hyper-connected but emotionally isolated inspired her to reverse-engineer the digital disconnection baked into traditional social media.
Since launching in London in 2020, Clyx has expanded to Miami, New York, Reykyavik, Los Angeles - and Austin, San Diego and Dubai launches planned in 2026. The app has already reached over 250,000 downloads quarterly. Backed by $14M in Series A funding and a growing network of mission-aligned investors and brand partners, Clyx is reimagining what a social platform can be - not a feed of moments, but a foundation for real-life connection that lasts.
Download the app: AppStore, Google Play.
Press Contact:
Pania Kirillina
pania@sublimecommunications.com
https://clyx.com/landing
SOURCE: Clyx
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