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Lapse is a social disposable camera application that allows users to capture and share photos within private group chats. The app emulates the experience of traditional disposable cameras by enabling groups to take a set of 36 photos, referred to as 'rolls.' Once the first photo is taken, the roll becomes accessible to group members for a limited time, fostering a sense of shared experience and nostalgia. This innovative approach encourages users to engage with friends while creating temporary memories that are exclusive to their group.

Courier provides a notification management platform that allows developers to effectively route user notifications across various communication channels, such as email, SMS, and messaging apps. By utilizing an API, the platform intelligently determines the optimal channel for delivering messages based on user engagement and online status. This capability enables businesses to craft a single message that can be reused across multiple channels or customized for specific platforms, ensuring timely and relevant communication with users, business partners, and external stakeholders. With a commitment to customer success, Courier has evolved alongside technological advancements while maintaining stable management practices and long-term relationships with its clients.

Lapse is a social disposable camera application that allows users to capture and share photos within private group chats. The app emulates the experience of traditional disposable cameras by enabling groups to take a set of 36 photos, referred to as 'rolls.' Once the first photo is taken, the roll becomes accessible to group members for a limited time, fostering a sense of shared experience and nostalgia. This innovative approach encourages users to engage with friends while creating temporary memories that are exclusive to their group.

Norby is a business that provides a toolkit for creators and brands to build and monetize their audience via SMS. Its platform facilitates meaningful relationships between creators and their followers, offering features such as short message service marketing campaigns and email newsletters to help creators engage with and market to their audience.

Podium, Inc. is a software company based in Provo, Utah, that provides a customer communication platform designed to help businesses manage online reviews and enhance customer interactions at a local level. Founded in 2013, the platform allows users to collect and respond to reviews from various sites such as Google and Facebook, right at the moment of transaction. It offers features for interaction management, enabling businesses to communicate effectively with leads, customers, and team members through messaging. Podium's system aggregates and analyzes customer reviews, helping organizations improve their online reputation, gain insights into customer preferences, and influence purchase decisions through user-generated content.

Onward is a customer service automation platform that creates a range of automated customer service and sales tools for business usage. The platform helps its clients achieve Automation40 - 40% of tickets automated, 40% of messages automated, 40 second average response time. Onward’s solution could be directly integrated into systems such as Zendesk, whilst simultaneously plugging into Salesforce and Hubspot to add leads. Onward’s enterprise chatbot platform leveraged natural language processing to extract meaning from customers’ messages. The platform can contextualize and personalize its responses to queries through drawing on signals such as historical activity, login status, and location.

Podium, Inc. is a software company based in Provo, Utah, that provides a customer communication platform designed to help businesses manage online reviews and enhance customer interactions at a local level. Founded in 2013, the platform allows users to collect and respond to reviews from various sites such as Google and Facebook, right at the moment of transaction. It offers features for interaction management, enabling businesses to communicate effectively with leads, customers, and team members through messaging. Podium's system aggregates and analyzes customer reviews, helping organizations improve their online reputation, gain insights into customer preferences, and influence purchase decisions through user-generated content.

Go Moment specializes in providing an AI-enhanced guest communication platform tailored for the hospitality industry. The company's flagship product, Ivy, functions as a digital personal assistant that engages hotel guests through proactive text messaging. Ivy efficiently handles common inquiries, such as wifi codes, and directs service issues and requests to appropriate personnel, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and guest satisfaction. Additionally, Ivy can assist with making restaurant reservations and spa appointments, contributing to revenue growth for hotels and resorts. Powered by IBM Watson's artificial intelligence, Ivy continually improves with use, resulting in higher guest engagement, better online reviews, and increased revenue for its growing clientele across the country.

Hustle, Inc. operates a peer-to-peer text messaging platform that allows organizations to communicate directly with their contacts. Founded in 2014 and based in San Francisco, the company offers a software-as-a-service solution that supports personal text messaging for various purposes, including event attendance, fundraising, admissions, recruiting, advocacy, and sales and marketing. Hustle's platform emphasizes two-way conversations, enabling users to engage in meaningful dialogues with large audiences. It also provides tools for tracking goals, managing contacts, and viewing conversation histories, which help clients strengthen relationships and enhance their outreach efforts. Through this approach, Hustle aims to connect organizations with a broader demographic in an efficient and effective manner.

Intercom, Inc. is a customer communication platform designed to facilitate interactions between businesses and their customers across web and mobile platforms. Established in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, with an additional office in Dublin, Intercom enables teams to engage with customers personally and at scale. The platform includes several core products: Acquire, which allows businesses to chat with website visitors; Engage, which helps onboard and retain customers through targeted messaging; Learn, which gathers customer feedback; and Support, which assists users within web and mobile applications. With over 25,000 global organizations, including well-known companies like Atlassian, Amazon, and Lyft Business, utilizing its services, Intercom sends more than 500 million messages each month, reaching over 600 million active end users, thereby redefining customer support through effective messaging and automation.

Tenor operates as a leading mobile GIF search engine, facilitating over 12 billion searches monthly from approximately 300 million users. The platform enhances digital communication by enabling users to find GIFs that effectively convey their emotions and personalities. Tenor's technology supports a wide array of partners, including major messaging applications such as iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Google Gboard, allowing seamless GIF sharing across these platforms. In addition to its search capabilities, Tenor has pioneered branded GIF programs, collaborating with companies like Dunkin Donuts, Nissan, AT&T, and Wendy’s to engage meaningfully with mobile audiences. This focus on connecting users with the right GIF at the right moment underscores Tenor's position as a key player in the digital conversation space.

Banter, Inc. is a company that specializes in conversational commerce through its platform, Banter, which assists customers in finding and purchasing products. Established in 2016 and based in Palo Alto, California, Banter aims to streamline the shopping experience by allowing customers to ask questions via familiar messaging applications such as SMS, Facebook, and Twitter. This approach facilitates effortless communication between consumers and retailers, enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction.

CareMessage is a technology non-profit dedicated to enhancing patient engagement for low-income populations in the United States. Its platform, powered by the Health Equity Engine™, integrates messaging, data, and interoperability to improve access to care, clinical outcomes, and social determinants of health. Since its inception in 2013, CareMessage has reached 20 million patients, establishing itself as a leader in promoting health equity at scale. The platform offers services that remind and educate patients about primary care appointments, preventive screenings, and disease management, serving community health centers, health plans, and free clinics. With a team that includes individuals with lived experiences in these communities, CareMessage reinvests its revenue into impactful initiatives, positioning itself as a preferred partner for organizations focused on advancing health equity.

Symphony Communication Services, LLC is a secure collaboration platform that facilitates effective and compliant communication for traders and portfolio managers in the financial and insurance sectors. By consolidating digital communication tools such as messaging, screen sharing, and audio/video conferencing into a single platform, Symphony enhances productivity while ensuring adherence to data security and regulatory compliance requirements. The platform supports various functions including internal and external team communication, document sharing, and integration of applications and bots. Founded in 2012 and based in Palo Alto, California, Symphony has expanded its presence with offices in major financial hubs including New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Stockholm, Paris, and Tokyo. The company was formerly known as Perzo Inc. and rebranded in 2014. Symphony operates as a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Podium, Inc. is a software company based in Provo, Utah, that provides a customer communication platform designed to help businesses manage online reviews and enhance customer interactions at a local level. Founded in 2013, the platform allows users to collect and respond to reviews from various sites such as Google and Facebook, right at the moment of transaction. It offers features for interaction management, enabling businesses to communicate effectively with leads, customers, and team members through messaging. Podium's system aggregates and analyzes customer reviews, helping organizations improve their online reputation, gain insights into customer preferences, and influence purchase decisions through user-generated content.

Kifi operates an online platform designed to facilitate collaboration among individuals and teams through the sharing of knowledge on the web. The platform enables users to save and organize valuable content they encounter online, alleviating the cognitive burden of remembering what to keep and where to find it. By integrating with external sources like Slack and Twitter, Kifi enhances the user experience by mining collective knowledge and providing contextual insights during browsing and searches. This functionality not only surfaces previously unnoticed information but also reveals opportunities for meaningful connections with others. Kifi aims to foster productive interactions and spark conversations through an immersive messaging and annotation experience, ultimately helping teams align and collaborate effectively. The company is supported by a team of skilled software engineers with backgrounds from leading tech firms, focused on addressing challenges in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and large-scale data analysis. Kifi is committed to delivering consumer-centric solutions that unlock the potential of shared knowledge.

Pie is the fastest, easiest, and most fun messaging app you’ll ever use for work. And best of all, if you love Pie on your mobile device, you'll love our Web app over at pie.co. They'd love to help you get started, send an email to team@pie.co with your questions.

Symphony Communication Services, LLC is a secure collaboration platform that facilitates effective and compliant communication for traders and portfolio managers in the financial and insurance sectors. By consolidating digital communication tools such as messaging, screen sharing, and audio/video conferencing into a single platform, Symphony enhances productivity while ensuring adherence to data security and regulatory compliance requirements. The platform supports various functions including internal and external team communication, document sharing, and integration of applications and bots. Founded in 2012 and based in Palo Alto, California, Symphony has expanded its presence with offices in major financial hubs including New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Stockholm, Paris, and Tokyo. The company was formerly known as Perzo Inc. and rebranded in 2014. Symphony operates as a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Jibe Mobile, Inc. is a technology company that specializes in cloud-based communication solutions for mobile operators, developers, and consumers. It operates a platform that supports IP communication services, enabling carriers to quickly launch and scale innovative offerings for mobile users worldwide. Jibe Mobile's solutions include joynNet, which facilitates user growth by allowing joyn users to invite contacts to join the service, and a carrier-branded messaging application called Jibe ON that supports video, voice, chat, and file transfers. The company also provides a Private Cloud solution for operators to implement joyn and Rich Communication Services (RCS) features, including voice over IP and video calling. Jibe Mobile is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with additional offices in London, Düsseldorf, and Tokyo. It operates as a subsidiary of MTI Ltd.

Slack Technologies, Inc., established in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, operates a cloud-based communication and collaboration platform, Slack. This platform facilitates team messaging, file sharing, and integration with various business tools, catering to a wide range of industries, from startups to large enterprises. Slack's software-as-a-service model enables real-time communication and data sharing, aiming to increase organizational efficiency and productivity.

CareMessage is a technology non-profit dedicated to enhancing patient engagement for low-income populations in the United States. Its platform, powered by the Health Equity Engine™, integrates messaging, data, and interoperability to improve access to care, clinical outcomes, and social determinants of health. Since its inception in 2013, CareMessage has reached 20 million patients, establishing itself as a leader in promoting health equity at scale. The platform offers services that remind and educate patients about primary care appointments, preventive screenings, and disease management, serving community health centers, health plans, and free clinics. With a team that includes individuals with lived experiences in these communities, CareMessage reinvests its revenue into impactful initiatives, positioning itself as a preferred partner for organizations focused on advancing health equity.

Slack Technologies, Inc., established in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, operates a cloud-based communication and collaboration platform, Slack. This platform facilitates team messaging, file sharing, and integration with various business tools, catering to a wide range of industries, from startups to large enterprises. Slack's software-as-a-service model enables real-time communication and data sharing, aiming to increase organizational efficiency and productivity.

Cord Project Inc., founded in 2014 and based in Brooklyn, New York, specializes in voice messaging technology. The company offers a platform that enables users to send voice messages quickly and easily, allowing for one-on-one chats or group conversations. The service is available for both iPhone and Android devices, providing a user-friendly experience. Cord Project operates as a subsidiary of Spotify USA Inc., focusing on enhancing communication through innovative audio messaging solutions that utilize voice commands to facilitate interactions on mobile devices.

Emu is texting with a built-in assistant. Schedule lunches, share your location, and set reminders — as easily as sending a photo. It’s texting, for grown-ups. Created by veterans of Siri, Apple, Google, TechCrunch, and Yahoo! Messenger, Emu is a messaging product for iPhone that uses artificial intelligence — machine learning and natural language processing — to understand messages, then magically adds relevant information to help you schedule a lunch, reserve a table, buy movie tickets, or share your location in real time. Emu (http://emu.is) was founded in 2012 by Gummi Hafsteinsson (formerly VP Product Siri, previously at Apple and Google), Dave Feldman (previously with AOL/TechCrunch and Yahoo!), and an experienced team of mobile and machine-learning engineers. The company has received seed funding of $1.5M to date from Kleiner Perkins, TriplePoint Capital, Menlo Ventures, DFJ, and additional angel investors. See our Founder Bios for more information on the founding team.

WUT, Inc. is a technology company based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2014. It specializes in developing a social messaging application that enables users to send anonymous and ephemeral messages to their friends. The app captures the spontaneous and free-spirited interactions that users enjoy, allowing them to engage in casual conversations through their mobile devices. By focusing on anonymity and temporality, WUT aims to enhance the social messaging experience, making it more dynamic and reflective of real-life interactions.

Secret offers an online platform that enables users to share their personal secrets with other users anonymously. It owns and operates a mobile application that helps users to share and connect with friends. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Confide, Inc. is a New York-based company that specializes in providing a secure mobile messaging solution designed for confidential communication. Founded in 2013, Confide offers a platform that enables users to send encrypted messages that self-destruct after being read, ensuring privacy and preventing the possibility of screenshots. With its use of public and private encryption keys, the platform allows individuals to engage in sensitive discussions without the fear of information being duplicated or misused. By prioritizing message security and integrity, Confide aims to facilitate unfiltered conversations while maintaining the confidentiality of its users' communications.

Secret offers an online platform that enables users to share their personal secrets with other users anonymously. It owns and operates a mobile application that helps users to share and connect with friends. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Rumr is a messaging app that enables users to chat privately and anonymously with their friends. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

MessageMe is a mobile messaging application designed to enhance communication through personalized and emotionally engaging interactions. The platform focuses on creating a fun and lightweight user experience, encouraging users to send and respond to messages in a dynamic manner. By applying techniques from social gaming, MessageMe aims to enrich the emotional context of messaging, thereby increasing user engagement and excitement. The company has attracted interest from major players in the tech industry, including Snapchat and Truecaller. Ultimately, MessageMe was acquired by Yahoo for a sum estimated between $30 million and $40 million, reflecting its potential in the competitive messaging app landscape.

MessageMe is a mobile messaging application designed to enhance communication through personalized and emotionally engaging interactions. The platform focuses on creating a fun and lightweight user experience, encouraging users to send and respond to messages in a dynamic manner. By applying techniques from social gaming, MessageMe aims to enrich the emotional context of messaging, thereby increasing user engagement and excitement. The company has attracted interest from major players in the tech industry, including Snapchat and Truecaller. Ultimately, MessageMe was acquired by Yahoo for a sum estimated between $30 million and $40 million, reflecting its potential in the competitive messaging app landscape.

Airtime is a social platform designed to foster genuine online interactions, aiming to create a welcoming environment for users. Founded by Sean Parker, the platform offers various virtual "rooms" where individuals can engage in live conversations about diverse interests, from music to art and comedy. Unlike traditional social networks that often promote isolation, Airtime encourages community building and real-time engagement. The company is supported by prominent investors, including Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, and Google Ventures, and operates with a dedicated team of over 100 employees across three locations. Airtime focuses on enhancing the quality of online social experiences through its innovative video conversation features.

echoecho is a mobile phone software development company founded in 2010 to create and develop cutting edge smartphone solutions. The company's first product, an open API, cross-platform, carrier agnostic location sharing system called echoecho, is primed to be a market leader in the location based services sector. echoecho is confident that the ability to safely, simply and quickly share location with friends, family or business colleagues is a real problem that many users find themselves facing. "Where is John?" "Where is my girlfriend?" "I'm running late but I'd like to show you where I am located." echoecho seeks to continue redefining location sharing technology - and its uptake within and beyond the early adopter markets - by focusing on simplicity - rather than adding complexity. Since we figure we solved the problems of privacy, permission and preference inherent in location sharing very elegantly - we thought we'd add some more use cases into the mix - so users can now chat and find+share meeting places in 2 clicks. In the latest version of the software we also added a feature we call LIVE - essentially a short term 2-way real-time link between friends - it works very well and it's perfect for organising vehicle pickups (carpooling, dropping off and picking up friends etc)

Just.me, Inc., established in 2011 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, operates a mobile and social network. It offers a free, unified mobile messaging platform that combines features from various apps, such as texting, email, voice messages, and multimedia sharing, into a single application. Users can save, share, or publish their memories, messages, or posts with unlimited photos, videos, voice, and text. The platform provides users with control over their information and messages, as it leverages the smartphone's address book to determine who sees each shared message. Currently, the app is in beta for iPhone users, with an Android version in development, and a web version available with reduced publishing features.

SayNow is a voice messaging platform designed to facilitate communication between fans and celebrities through voice and text messaging. Each celebrity is assigned a unique phone number that allows fans to leave messages or receive updates directly from the celebrities themselves. This service primarily targets musical artists, but it is also available to any public figure with a substantial following, including entertainers, politicians, and community leaders. SayNow has gained traction among notable music artists and major record labels, enhancing the way fans engage with their favorite personalities. Additionally, the platform offers an optional feature that allows broadcasters to earn revenue by incorporating relevant sponsorships into their messages, further diversifying its appeal and functionality.

Gizmofive offers a VoIP application that enables its users to make multiple phone calls, message, and create chat groups through the internet. It is able to provide its customers with services of an answering machine and enables them to check their call history and missed calls. Gizmofive was founded in April 2003 and is based in San Diego, California.

Postini is a provider of on-demand communications security and compliance solutions, focusing on email, instant messaging, and web services. With a daily processing capacity of over 1 billion messages, Postini safeguards more than 35,000 businesses globally from various internet threats. The Postini Communications Suite is designed to eliminate unwanted content and enhance productivity by automatically encrypting sensitive communications between businesses. The company holds two patents related to security and compliance technologies. Acquired by Google in 2007, Postini operates as a subsidiary, continuing to deliver essential services in North America and Europe.

Dodgeball was a location-based service based around SMS. Google acquired it in 2005, but the team left in 2007. Google shut down the service in 2009, the same year [Foursquare](/organization/foursquare) (also co-founded by [Dennis Crowley](/person/dennis-crowley)) was started.