Autio, a location-based audio entertainment app co-founded by actor Kevin Costner and formerly known as HearHere, has raised a $5.9 million seed extension led by iHeartMedia. The app uses GPS to tell stories based on a user’s geographic location. Autio narrates stories of landmarks, cities and towns nearby with the aim of fostering deep connections and understandings of the places users are traveling through.
Founded by CEO Woody Sears, Bill Werlin and Costner, Autio initially launched as HearHere in August 2020 with just 1,500 location-based stories. Autio now offers more than 10,000 stories across the entire United States and has more than 230,000 registered users.
The stories, which range from two to four minutes in length, are designed to give listeners informational tidbits about their surroundings, including points of interest they might not have known about. Some of the stories are narrated by no...
