why?! is a conversation app that combines messaging, networking and dating features into a single experience. It includes question card games for private chats, a daily question in the home feed, a FaceTime-like video chat feature, and a weekly prompt. The app is currently in private beta with plans to officially launch in the fall. Founders Maya Watson and Lexi Nisita, who previously worked at Netflix and Clubhouse, built the product informed by interviews with therapists and psychologists about closeness. The team emphasizes simplicity and intimacy as differentiators and aims to help users form reciprocal, deep and trustworthy relationships amid a perceived "loneliness epidemic." The company has four full-time employees and plans to hire more engineering support as it launches and grows its user base. Financially, why?! raised $1.65 million in a pre-seed round led by Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures, with participation from Barclays Black Formation Investments (managed by Zeal Capital Partners), Virginie Raphael of FullCircle, and Clubhouse CTO Mohammad Almalkawi.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Aug 2024