(Bloomberg) – Invitation links to a dedicated app called Airchat, which combines voice memos and Twitter, have been circulating around Silicon Valley in recent days.
Airchat is still invite-only, but it’s the latest app to get a lot of hype in the tech world, developed by AngelList co-creator Naval Ravikant and Tinder’s former chief product officer Brian Norgard. Ta. When you open it, you’ll see a block of text that looks like a Twitter feed. These are user-submitted voice memo transcripts that can be played back and listened to. These voice notes can be hearted and reposted, similar to Twitter, which is now called X.
But Ravikant said the purpose of the app is not to catch up on what people are saying while they’re not staring at their phones. “Rather, it’s about seeing what’s going on around you right now,” he said, immersed in conversation at a house party. Ravikanth said in an interview on Air Chat that he prefers to answer questions publicly on the app.
“I want a house party in my pocket,” he said. “I want to pull out this phone any time I want and talk to someone who’s funny and fun and witty.”
According to research by Sensor Tower, Airchat has been downloaded more than 45,000 times worldwide since its initial release in mid-2023. More than 30,000 of those downloads occurred after the reboot this month, starting the current cycle of frenzy. Almost half of the downloads come from users based in the US.
Over the past few days, Airchat users have been discussing topics ranging from the Middle East wars to fitness to Brian Johnson’s anti-aging quest. But the most notable topic is Airchat itself. Will this be the new dating app that opens users up to people who would otherwise be rejected at first glance on Hinge or Tinder because they liked the person’s voice or had a thoughtful conversation? Will Airchat be the next big thing?
In a message posted to the platform over the weekend, Ravikant said he joined Norgard’s app-building efforts a year ago and became more involved “just a few months ago.” Since then, funding for Airchat has come from Ravikant, Accomprise founding partner Jeff Fagnan and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who “blindly threw in checks,” Ravikant said. .
“He’s not really involved, but I think he just believes in anything that uses AI,” Ravikant said of Altman. “None of our investors have any real influence over us.”
The app is vaguely reminiscent of Clubhouse, the audio chat room service that boomed during the pandemic but has since faded. Last year, Clubhouse cut its staff in half and pivoted its strategy from large group chat rooms to a messaging service.
As of Tuesday, Apple Inc.’s app store ranked Airchat 29th among social networking apps, beating out obvious options like Signal and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Threads and others like Locket and Wizz. It ranks 29th behind lesser-known options.
The app’s main feed can feel noisy, like it jumps into random conversations midway through. Asked if users might feel confused as the app becomes more crowded, Ravikant said Airchat’s goal isn’t necessarily to gather followers. It’s about finding the person you want to talk to.
“You don’t go to a party with tens of thousands of people and immediately say, ‘Okay, I need 100 friends now,'” he says.
©2024 Bloomberg LP
