Daze is a freestyle messaging app founded by New York serial entrepreneur Willem Simons, inspired by social media. The product demo video for the app has garnered significant attention on TikTok and Instagram, with a total view count reaching approximately 48 million. The demand for this next-generation alternative to iMessage and WhatsApp is not driven by eloquent influencers or paid advertisements, but by the actual product demo videos that have left a deep impression on young audiences.
Daze's user base is increasingly younger, with most testers falling between the ages of 13 and 22. The app is currently leveraging artificial intelligence to support some of its creative tools and plans to deeply integrate more AI-based technologies in the future. Simons told TechCrunch, "Our goal in developing Daze is to create a fully functional instant messaging app that competes with products like iMessage and WhatsApp, while retaining a range of truly fun and creative features."
Daze is set to launch on November 4th. Prior to this, the app has undergone early testing with about 1,400 invite-only beta users. Although the beta metrics still need to be validated in the real world, a promising figure shared by a source familiar with the company's testing indicates that Daze has a 60-day retention rate of over 50% for users who have sent messages on the app.
The startup's team consists of seven full-time employees and one part-time employee, with most based in New York and only a few working remotely. Before the launch, Daze has raised $5.7 million from investors including a16z, Kindred Ventures, Alpaca Ventures, Uncommon Projects, Betaworks, Maveron, 35Ventures, New Wave, and Antoine Martin.