Coub was founded in 2012 by Anton and Igor Gladkoborodov and developer Mikhail Tabunov.[4][5] The name "Coub" comes from Cobb, the protagonist of the film Inception.[6] In June 2013, Coub raised $1 million in additional funding from venture capital firms Brothers Ventures and Phenomen Ventures, and announced plans to open a U.S. office.[7] The iOS app was launched in December 2013 and included the ability to record and upload a "coub" directly from an iPhone camera, as well as filters similar to those on Instagram.[8] As of April 2014, over 400,000 videos, or "coubs" have been created.[9] In July 2014 Coub raised $2.5 million from Vaizra Investments, a fund founded by Lev Leviev and Vyacheslav Mirilashvili, the founders of VK.com, Russia's major Facebook competitor.[10][11]