Leonardo DiCaprio's Latest Role: Mobli Tech Investor

Leonardo DiCaprio is making the move from show biz to social media.

Mobli, a startup that bills itself a "real-time visual media platform," announced Tuesday that DiCaprio had led a $4 million round of funding and would be taking on an advisory role with the company.

"Leo is not a tech guy and we're not looking for advice on technology, but he is a very, very smart guy concerning marketing, so he will be advising us in this territory--branding marketing and stuff like this," Mobli CEO Moshe Hogeg told The Huffington Post. "Leo is very excited. He believes in the vision of the company and thinks that this is the future of media. He wanted to get on board in the beginning, influence it, and give his input into the company."

Hollywood celebrities have become increasingly involved in Silicon Valley startups and DiCaprio is the latest in a series of A-listers to join the tech scene. Ashton Kutcher not only plays a tech investor on TV, but is one in real life, having helped fund companies such as Flipboard, Chegg, GroupMe and Hipmunk. Lady Gaga recently backed Backplane, a social networking site for celebrities launched by her business manager, and was creative director for Polaroid. Justin Timberlake has signed on with Myspace to help revitalize the flagging social network and last week rapper M.C. Hammer unveiled a new search engine, WireDoo.

On Mobli, users can follow "channels" that display photos about a particular topic, such as "challenges," "guys" or "Dancing With The Stars," or posted by a specific person. DiCaprio's official channel has nearly 10,000 viewers--not bad considering he's posted fewer than a dozen times, but a fraction of the 1.6 million followers he has on Twitter or 2 million "likes" he's earned on Facebook.

“Mobli allows people from all over the world to share moments,” DiCaprio said, according to Mashable.

Indeed. So does Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and a slew of other social media sites.

Hogeg said DiCaprio discovered Mobli during its closed beta testing several months ago. One of DiCaprio's close friends was among the 100 people testing the company's app and showed it to DiCaprio, who Hogeg said then requested a meeting with Mobli and later decided to partner with the startup.

Here's a picture, via Mobli, of DiCaprio with the Mobli team:

Comments

[Shandee Lingard]

06:15 AM on 12/07/2011

I've been on Mobli since it's beta days. I'm very proud to be a first generation mobli-ite! If I had $4 million to invest in Mobli I would. Don't trash it until you try it. You have no idea what you're missing out on. There's some of the nicest and coolest people on there. All the people at Mobli HQ are amazing, and they actually Listen to what people have to say. Come try Mobli, do a few challenges and Have Fun.

[alpina]

07:03 PM on 10/26/2011

I thought this was going to be about his ridiculous role as J. Edgar Hoover. There is a reason you don't get Kareem Abdul Jabbar to play Napoleon. Leo ain't THAT good an actor.

[ulatec]

07:27 PM on 10/26/2011

Hes not that bad as he gets older . I used to think he sucked as well but he is actually getting better IMHO

[ReallySmarter]

02:30 PM on 10/27/2011

absolutely! I felt the same way, to be honest he has a history of taking really great roles in really great movies. I didn't realize it until recently.

Johnny Depp was once a favorite, but after he sold his dignity to make disney pirate movies, and I think DiCaprio has much more integrity.

[Broderick Crawford]

05:34 PM on 10/26/2011

Imagine that. What will the left do without his image as one of the important thinkers on such matters as the myth of global warming...

[rcwblessed]

05:38 PM on 10/26/2011

Example of a Fox News, low-information voter!

[dontplaymisty]

04:05 PM on 10/26/2011

Playing a straight dude?
That would be challenging.

[LMPE]

04:03 PM on 10/26/2011

never heard of Mobli

[Raw Ron]

03:58 PM on 10/26/2011

What a head of hair this guy has.
I understand why MC Hammer would go down this road but Leo has to be worth a few hundred million by now. Why waste your time on social media especially given the fact that Facebook has about 90% of the market and it ain't gonna change anytime soon.

Why doesn't he invest some time and money promoting alternative energy or importing drugs from Canada? I just don't see how this can be a important use of his time.

[2crudedudes]

05:18 PM on 10/26/2011

It's Leonardo DiCaprio, it's not like he's skilled or anything.

[justin i]

06:41 PM on 10/26/2011

Its not exactly a FB competitor - the fact that you can login to Mobli using your facebook account is evidence of that.

Its one of those tech ideas that might bomb in a spectacular fashion, but might also take off. It plays on people's narcissism, which is not a bad bet to take in America.

But yeah, Leo could be more like Clooney or Pitt, and devote some money and effort to a worthwhile cause.

[sourpatch575]

03:20 PM on 10/26/2011

Awesome. More ads plastered all over and more money for Leo. I love that man but gosh, he can be a superficial celeb at times.

[BlueZoo]

05:49 PM on 10/26/2011

DiCaprio has the same right you and I do to spend our hard-earned money any way we wish to! If he chooses to waste his money, that's his right to do so!

[vinny]

02:36 PM on 10/26/2011

mc hammer stepped in some wireDoo

[mother10]

02:20 PM on 10/26/2011

didn't he just have a baby with his girlfriend...now he has a new girlfriend ? is the baby even 6 months old yet ?

[Orphie]

02:10 PM on 10/26/2011

" . . . but he is a very, very smart guy concerning marketing.."

Translation: you wouldn't be reading this if his name value didn't pique your interest.

[Dogvane]

02:06 PM on 10/26/2011

I thought he was J. Edgar Hoover...

[Primesuspect]

02:02 PM on 10/26/2011

Looks aside, Leo is still an amazing man. He's an exceptional, intelligent actor and seems to be a decent person. Now let's go back to his looks ...

[mherrera]

02:00 PM on 10/26/2011

Okay, so they offered him a piece to rent his face and his name and he drank the Kool Aid. So he knows nothing about tech and is fronting a startup company with sketchy details. When they go busy and default on their government loans, he can slip into J Edgar Hoover character and investigate himself while wearing a pink chiffon gown. This should be a riot ro watch as it unfolds.

[Spartacle12]

01:54 PM on 10/26/2011

Leo was the basis for Vince on Entourage so consider this the tequila brought to him by Turtle and see how it goes. For real.

[rutroGeorge]

01:41 PM on 10/26/2011

It's like Glenn Beck said in recent interview, tv networks are on their way out.