Series is presented as a next-generation social networking platform built directly into iMessage, designed to facilitate “warm connections” through AI rather than functioning as a typical standalone app. Created in early 2025 by Yale seniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, the startup has secured a 5.1 million dollar pre-seed round from high-profile backers including Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian. The product works via texting a dedicated phone number, “Series AI,” where users describe who they are and the type of people they want to meet; in response, they receive “shares,” a carousel of 10 images featuring profiles of others with similar goals, each card showing a photo and an “ask.”
Johnson frames Series within a broader shift from traditional user interfaces toward conversational interfaces, comparing the evolution from “scrolling through libraries and clicking on websites” to interacting with AI to quickly locate what is needed. His and Hargrow’s interest in warm introductions came from interviewing founders and CEOs at the Yale Entrepreneurial Society and then launching a business around AI-powered connection facilitation.
The team iterated through multiple product versions before arriving at the current concept and began fundraising in March 2025, also creating a viral LinkedIn launch video that helped attract their first investor within days. Series initially gained traction on U.S. college campuses and now targets Gen Z and professionals; it is used mainly for business networking but also for dating and friendship, boasting usage across more than 750 campuses and “82%” Day-30 retention among activated users, which is noted as higher than early Facebook benchmarks.
The new funding will support hiring engineers and expanding product capabilities while the company continues to operate from Chelsea, New York, reflecting a growing tendency among young founders to favor “Silicon Alley” over Silicon Valley. Johnson and Hargrow have chosen not to drop out of Yale, instead managing demanding academic workloads alongside startup responsibilities, with Johnson emphasizing the importance of using “extra time” outside formal obligations to pursue meaningful ventures.
Reference
Davis, D.-M. (2026, April 24). Two college kids raise a 5.1 million dollar pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/24/two-college-kids-raise-a-5-1-million-pre-seed-to-build-an-ai-social-network-in-imessage/