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Velum

Velum Product Lab

The consumer app factory.

Velum Product Lab is a consumer app factory: we build, grow and scale AI-native apps across niches, all on one shared platform and one proven playbook. Each app ships in weeks, earns its growth through retention, and hands what it learned to the next one.

8
Apps shipped
$14M
Combined ARR
4M+
Downloads
6 wks
Median idea to launch

In short

What is Velum Product Lab?

Velum Product Lab is a consumer app factory run by founders who have scaled and exited consumer AI products. It launches AI-native consumer apps across different niches using shared infrastructure for identity, payments, AI, analytics, growth and safety, so each new app reaches real users in about six weeks and every win makes the next launch faster.

How the factory works

Build. Grow. Scale. Repeat.

One loop, run in every niche. Each stage has one outcome it must hit before the next one starts.

A live product real people pay for, not a prototype.

We pick a niche with a painful, frequent job and ship the smallest app that does it end to end. Every app starts on the same factory floor: auth, payments, AI layer, analytics and safety checks are already built.

6 wksmedian idea to launch
  • Niche scored on pain, frequency and reach
  • Paid validation before a line of product code
  • Shipped on shared, battle-tested infrastructure

The portfolio

Eight apps in the categories that earn the most.

We only enter niches where subscription revenue is proven: photo and video, fitness, finance, education, productivity, utilities, entertainment and dating. Scroll through each app's demo, outcome and traction.

  1. Photo & Video · scale

    Lumen

    An AI photo and video editor: one tap to fix, restyle or animate any shot.

    OutcomeAnyone gets a post-ready photo in seconds, without learning an editor.

    $2.4M
    ARR
    780k
    downloads
    4.7★
    rating
    Traction · MRR$200k11.1× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Lumen MRR by month
    M1$18k
    M2$26k
    M3$38k
    M4$51k
    M5$64k
    M6$83k
    M7$97k
    M8$116k
    M9$134k
    M10$158k
    M11$179k
    M12$200k

    21.4% of Photo & Video apps pass $1K a month, the highest rate of any category. RevenueCat, State of Subscription Apps 2026

    Pick a photo from the camera roll

  2. Health & Fitness · scale

    Stride

    Snap a meal and the AI counts it, then coaches the rest of your day.

    OutcomeCalorie tracking drops from minutes of logging to one photo per meal.

    $3.1M
    ARR
    36%
    trial to paid
    4.8★
    rating
    Traction · MRR$258k11.7× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Stride MRR by month
    M1$22k
    M2$34k
    M3$49k
    M4$63k
    M5$82k
    M6$104k
    M7$121k
    M8$146k
    M9$172k
    M10$201k
    M11$229k
    M12$258k

    $118.60 12-month LTV, with 35% of trials converting to paid. Mirava, subscription revenue by category 2026

    Point the camera at lunch

  3. Finance · grow

    Penny

    An AI money assistant that finds wasted subscriptions and cancels them for you.

    OutcomeUsers recover money in week one, then stay because the budget runs itself.

    $1.3M
    ARR
    $214
    avg. saved per user
    58%
    month-3 retention
    Traction · MRR$112k12.4× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Penny MRR by month
    M1$9k
    M2$14k
    M3$21k
    M4$27k
    M5$36k
    M6$44k
    M7$55k
    M8$66k
    M9$79k
    M10$91k
    M11$102k
    M12$112k

    $203.40 12-month LTV in Finance, the highest of any category. Mirava, subscription revenue by category 2026

    Connect a bank account in one step

  4. Education · build

    Parla

    Speak a new language with an AI tutor that listens, corrects and never gets tired.

    OutcomeLearners hold a real conversation in weeks, not years of flashcards.

    $420k
    ARR
    14 min
    avg. daily practice
    44%
    week-4 retention
    Traction · MRR$35k11.7× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Parla MRR by month
    M1$3k
    M2$5k
    M3$8k
    M4$11k
    M5$14k
    M6$18k
    M7$21k
    M8$24k
    M9$27k
    M10$30k
    M11$33k
    M12$35k

    $94.10 12-month LTV in Education, led by language learning. Mirava, subscription revenue by category 2026

    Pick a real-life scene to practise

  5. Productivity · grow

    Memo

    Press record in any meeting or thought, and get clean notes and to-dos.

    OutcomeNobody leaves a meeting wondering who does what next.

    $1.6M
    ARR
    210k
    hours transcribed
    52%
    month-3 retention
    Traction · MRR$134k12.2× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Memo MRR by month
    M1$11k
    M2$17k
    M3$25k
    M4$33k
    M5$42k
    M6$53k
    M7$65k
    M8$78k
    M9$92k
    M10$107k
    M11$121k
    M12$134k

    $79.20 12-month LTV in Productivity, where ChatGPT grosses $879M. Mirava, subscription revenue by category 2026

    Tap once to record the meeting

  6. Utilities · scale

    Sweep

    An AI phone cleaner that finds duplicates, blurry shots and junk, and frees space safely.

    OutcomeA full phone gets gigabytes back in one session, with nothing important lost.

    $2.9M
    ARR
    1.1M
    downloads
    18 GB
    avg. space freed
    Traction · MRR$241k10× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Sweep MRR by month
    M1$24k
    M2$37k
    M3$52k
    M4$68k
    M5$85k
    M6$104k
    M7$122k
    M8$143k
    M9$166k
    M10$190k
    M11$214k
    M12$241k

    73.6% of all weekly subscription revenue is earned by Utilities apps. Mirava, subscription revenue by category 2026

    Scan the whole phone in seconds

  7. Entertainment · grow

    Reel

    AI-produced vertical drama series, released in 90-second episodes.

    OutcomeViewers binge a whole season on the commute, and pay to unlock the finale.

    $1.9M
    ARR
    26 min
    avg. session
    31%
    finish a season
    Traction · MRR$162k23.1× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Reel MRR by month
    M1$7k
    M2$13k
    M3$22k
    M4$34k
    M5$46k
    M6$61k
    M7$77k
    M8$92k
    M9$110k
    M10$127k
    M11$145k
    M12$162k

    $721M grossed by Disney+ in-app, as streaming leads non-game revenue. Udonis, top-grossing apps 2026

    Swipe into a series

  8. Social & dating · build

    Aura

    An AI dating coach that picks your best photos, writes your profile and suggests openers.

    OutcomeBetter profiles mean more matches, and better openers mean more real dates.

    $310k
    ARR
    2.6×
    more matches
    4.6★
    rating
    Traction · MRR$26k13× in 12 months
    LaunchMonth 12
    Aura MRR by month
    M1$2k
    M2$4k
    M3$6k
    M4$9k
    M5$11k
    M6$14k
    M7$16k
    M8$19k
    M9$21k
    M10$23k
    M11$24k
    M12$26k

    $2.3B grossed by TikTok, the top non-game app, as social leads spending. Udonis, top-grossing apps 2026

    Upload twenty photos, Aura ranks them

Market figures are published category research, linked on each card. App traction figures are illustrative until the portfolio report is published.

The factory floor

Every app starts 60% built.

The shared platform under every launch. We only build what is unique to the niche.

  1. 01

    Revenue from the first user

    Identity and payments

    Sign-in, subscriptions, paywalls and regional pricing, live on day one.

  2. 02

    Quality up, cost per user down

    AI layer

    Model routing, prompt versioning, evals and cost caps shared across every app.

  3. 03

    Acquisition that compounds

    Growth loops

    Referrals, shareable outputs, lifecycle messaging and programmatic SEO as modules.

  4. 04

    Decisions in days, not quarters

    Analytics and experiments

    Activation, retention and revenue dashboards with A/B tests wired in.

  5. 05

    Launch in regulated niches safely

    Safety and trust

    Content checks, age ratings, privacy controls and audit logs by default.

  6. 06

    Ship everywhere at once

    Store and web launch

    App Store, Play and web release pipelines with review-ready assets.

The team

Built by founders who have scaled and exited in consumer AI.

Velum is run by operators, not a staffing agency. The founders have built consumer AI products, taken them to scale and exited. The team around them brings deep experience in product, strategy and growth, and puts the same playbook to work on every build.

  1. 01

    Founders who have exited

    Consumer AI products taken from zero to scale and through an exit. We know what it takes because we have done it with our own money on the line.

    ↳ Decisions made like owners
  2. 02

    Product

    Product leaders who have shipped apps used by millions: finding the one job worth doing, and cutting everything else.

    ↳ Products people come back to
  3. 03

    Strategy

    Market selection, pricing and positioning from people who have picked niches, raised capital and sold companies.

    ↳ The right bet, before the build
  4. 04

    Growth

    Growth operators who have built acquisition, retention and monetisation engines from the first thousand users onward.

    ↳ Growth that pays for itself

Questions

The consumer app factory, explained.

01

What is a consumer app factory?

A consumer app factory is a studio that launches many consumer apps on shared infrastructure and one repeatable playbook. Instead of betting on a single product, it builds, grows and scales apps across different niches, reusing what works in one to launch the next faster. Velum Product Lab is a consumer app factory for AI-native apps.

02

How does Velum Product Lab build apps so quickly?

Every app starts on the same factory floor: identity, payments, an AI layer with evals and cost controls, analytics, growth loops and safety checks are already built. The team only builds what is unique to the niche, which is why the median idea-to-launch time is about six weeks.

03

How do you choose which niche to enter?

We start from the categories where subscription revenue is proven: photo and video, health and fitness, finance, education, productivity, utilities, entertainment and dating. Within a category, each niche is scored on how painful and frequent the job is, how many people have it, and whether they already pay to solve it. We run paid validation before writing product code, and only build where people commit money or time up front.

04

How do you grow a consumer app after launch?

Retention comes first. We track activation and week-4 retention, fix the core loop until people return on their own, then add growth loops built into the product such as shareable outputs, referrals and search content. Paid acquisition only scales once payback is under 90 days.

05

What happens when an app works?

Winning apps get a dedicated team and more investment. Their components, growth loops and lessons become modules for the next niche, so every new app starts further ahead. Apps that do not find retention are shut down quickly and their parts are reused.

06

Can Velum Product Lab build an app with us?

Yes. Founders, brands and businesses partner with the lab to launch a consumer app in their niche using the same infrastructure and playbook. Book a 30-minute call to discuss the niche and the outcome you want.

07

Who is behind Velum Product Lab?

The lab is run by founders who have built, scaled and exited consumer AI products, with a team experienced in product, strategy and growth.

Have a niche worth an app?

Thirty minutes. Tell us the niche and the outcome you want. We will tell you how the factory would build, grow and scale it.