Series, a social networking app that operates entirely through iMessage, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed funding round in 2026. The company was founded by Yale seniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, who began building the platform during their freshman year and started fundraising in March 2025.
Investors in the round include Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian.
The app works by having users text a dedicated phone number on iMessage, describing who they are and who they want to connect with. Series AI responds with what it calls “shares” — a carousel of 10 swipeable images featuring other users seeking similar connections. Each card includes a photo and a brief description, and users can initiate a private conversation directly within the Series AI chat without exchanging personal phone numbers.
Johnson, who studies computer science and economics and serves as CEO, said he sees a broad shift in technology from user interfaces to conversation interfaces — moving from search-and-scroll experiences toward AI-driven dialogue. Hargrow studied neuroscience at Yale. The two met through the Yale Entrepreneurial Society, where they co-hosted a podcast interviewing founders and executives, an experience Johnson said led them to recognize “the power of warm connections.”
The platform expanded beyond its initial college-student base and now counts users across more than 750 campuses. Johnson said most users engage with Series for professional networking, though dating and friend-finding are also common use cases. The company reports a 30-day user retention rate of 82%, which Johnson compared favorably to early Facebook benchmarks. Series has a team of eight and operates out of an office in Chelsea, New York, with Johnson and Hargrow commuting regularly from New Haven, Connecticut, where Yale is located.
Neither founder has dropped out of college. Johnson said he chose to stay enrolled because he felt he could manage both commitments simultaneously, though he acknowledged that exam periods create pressure alongside his responsibilities running the company.
The fresh capital will be used to hire additional engineers and expand the product. The company plans to remain on the East Coast after graduation, citing a belief in New York’s technology ecosystem, which Johnson referred to as “Silicon Alley.” Series faces competition in the AI-powered networking space from at least one comparable service, Boardy AI, which also uses AI to facilitate introductions.
Source: TechCrunch