Two Yale University seniors, Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, have successfully raised $5.1 million in pre-seed funding for their startup, Series. The platform aims to redefine social networking by leveraging artificial intelligence and the familiarity of iMessage to facilitate “warm connections” between users.
The funding round attracted high-profile backing from industry leaders, including Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Pear VC, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian.
How Series Works: From Scrolling to Conversing
Unlike traditional social media platforms that rely on infinite feeds and manual browsing, Series operates entirely through iMessage. This approach shifts the user experience from a visual “library” of content to a conversational interface.
The process is streamlined for speed and privacy:
– The Interaction: Users text a dedicated “Series AI” number on iMessage, describing themselves and the type of connections they are seeking.
– The “Shares”: The AI responds with a carousel of 10 “shares”—image cards featuring other users’ photos and their specific networking goals.
– Seamless Connection: Users can initiate a private conversation with another person by long-pressing a photo, allowing for direct engagement without ever revealing their personal phone number.
This model reflects a broader technological shift: the transition from User Interfaces (UI), where users click through websites, to Conversational Interfaces (CUI), where AI acts as an intermediary to find specific information or people.
High Engagement and Viral Growth
Despite being in the early stages, Series is demonstrating impressive user retention. The company reports an 82% retention rate through Day 30, a figure that notably exceeds the early benchmarks set by Facebook.
While the platform initially gained traction on over 750 college campuses, it is now expanding its reach toward Gen Z professionals. Although the tool is frequently used for dating and making friends, the primary use case remains professional networking.
The company’s growth has been fueled by unconventional marketing; a viral LinkedIn video produced on a single overnight session reportedly led to the team’s first investor meeting just two days later.
A New Wave of “AI-First” Founders
The success of Series highlights a growing trend in the venture capital landscape. Investors are increasingly drawn to a new generation of “AI-first” founders. Unlike established companies attempting to retroactively integrate AI into legacy systems, these young entrepreneurs build their entire business logic around artificial intelligence from day one.
Johnson and Hargrow have also made a strategic geographic choice. Rather than moving to Silicon Valley, the team is establishing itself in New York City’s “Silicon Alley.” This aligns with a recent trend of consumer-focused startups choosing the East Coast’s dense professional and cultural hubs over the traditional West Coast tech ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
The newly acquired capital will be directed toward:
– Engineering Talent: Hiring more developers to expand product capabilities.
– Product Scaling: Enhancing the AI’s ability to facilitate connections.
– Market Expansion: Moving beyond the Ivy League and East Coast campuses.
Notably, both founders have chosen to remain in university while scaling the business, balancing academic responsibilities with the demands of leading a team of eight.
Series represents a shift toward more private, conversational, and AI-mediated social interactions, aiming to replace the friction of traditional networking with the ease of a text message.
