Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre‑seed to build an AI social network in iMessage

At a glance:

• Series raised $5.1 million in a pre‑seed round backed by Venmo co‑founder Iqram Magdon‑Ismail, Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and GPTZero founder Edward Tian
• The platform runs entirely inside iMessage, letting users discover contacts via AI‑generated “shares” carousel
• Series reports 82 % Day‑30 retention and is active on more than 750 college campuses

What happened

Series, a social‑networking app that lives inside iMessage, announced a $5.1 million pre‑seed round. Investors include Venmo co‑founder Iqram Magdon‑Ismail, venture firm Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and GPTZero founder Edward Tian. The company was founded early last year by Yale seniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, who remain students while scaling the business.

The funding will be used to hire additional engineers and broaden product capabilities. After graduation the team plans to stay on the East Coast, operating out of a Chelsea, New York office while commuting from New Haven, Connecticut.

How the platform works

Users start by texting a dedicated phone number – Series AI – on iMessage and describe who they are and the type of connection they seek. The AI replies with a carousel of up to ten “shares”, each showing a photo, a brief ask, and a swipe‑able preview of a potential match. Press‑and‑hold a carousel card to open a private chat within Series AI, keeping personal phone numbers hidden.

This conversation‑first approach mirrors the shift from traditional UI navigation to chat‑driven discovery, a trend Johnson likens to moving from Google search to ChatGPT. The model is positioned as a warm‑connection facilitator rather than a generic AI app.

Market context and competition

Series joins a nascent class of AI‑powered networking tools, with competitors such as Boardy AI also leveraging generative models to surface introductions. The startup claims activation across more than 750 campuses and a Day‑30 retention rate of 82 %, which Johnson says exceeds early Facebook benchmarks.

Investors are betting on the broader wave of AI‑first consumer products, noting that young founders who embed AI from day one may outpace incumbents still retrofitting legacy interfaces. The focus on Gen Z and early‑career professionals aligns with a growing appetite for conversational networking beyond traditional LinkedIn feeds.

Growth strategy and next steps

Series plans to expand beyond the college‑student base while retaining a strong foothold in the Ivy League and East‑Coast schools. The fresh capital will fund engineering hires, new carousel features, and deeper integration with iMessage’s ecosystem.

Johnson emphasizes the decision to stay in New York rather than Silicon Valley, citing a “Silicon Alley” momentum among young consumer founders. He also highlights the unique challenge of balancing coursework with startup responsibilities, noting that both founders remain enrolled and have not dropped out.

Why it matters

If Series can sustain its high retention and scale its AI matchmaking engine, it could redefine how early‑career professionals build networks—shifting the discovery paradigm from static profiles to real‑time conversational introductions. The model may also inspire other messaging‑centric platforms to embed AI layers, further blurring the line between chat apps and social networks.