Nearly 200,000 people are on the waitlist to try out a new Gen Z messaging app that launches next week

• Daze, a messaging app aimed astatine mediate and precocious schoolers, has 187,000 group connected its waitlist.
• The app launches November 4 for iPhone and Android and its trading videos went viral connected TikTok.
• Daze CEO Willem Simons told BI that mediate and precocious schoolers are progressively looking to interact creatively.

An upcoming messaging app for Gen Z looks a batch different than your emblematic iPhone aliases WhatsApp conversation.

It's called Daze, and CEO Willem Simons told Business Insider that 187,000 group had joined nan waitlist for early entree up of nan app's motorboat adjacent week.

The app gained traction aft nan startup posted respective viral TikToks that offered a glimpse astatine what a speech connected Daze tin look like, filled pinch visually stimulating matter strings pinch floating fonts successful different shapes and sizes and interactive gifs.

The videos drew millions of views.

The accent connected imaginative visuals was deliberate. Simons told BI that nan app is aimed astatine mediate schoolers and precocious schoolers. Of nan 2,000 beta testers, Simons said astir autumn betwixt 13 to 22 years old. You person to beryllium astatine slightest 13 years aged to motion up.

Simons said he was partially inspired to create an interactive app by his ain acquisition arsenic a teen. The 27-year-old, who has cofounded different startups, including nan messaging app Muze, said he grew up successful a somewhat agrarian situation and couldn't ever beryllium successful personification pinch friends.

"So we were hanging retired mostly done messengers and things for illustration Skype," Simons said, adding that, "messaging is not conscionable astir utility, it's besides astir hanging retired pinch people."

In mediate schoolhouse and precocious school, Simons said group thin to person overmuch larger groups of group they consistently pass with. Once group get to college, they're hanging retired a batch much successful person, he said.

"Texting is still evidently a immense portion of assemblage culture," Simons said. "But I deliberation precocious schoolhouse is really astatine nan halfway of what we're going for."

Simons said group are resonating pinch Daze's promotional videos because of nan relatable communicative portrayed successful nan videos. Simons said nan videos show real-life scenarios of kids interacting, for illustration a feline asking retired a girl.

"It's utilizing nan format to exemplify it successful this imaginative way," Simons said.

Simons said that erstwhile societal media and messaging platforms started retired pinch apps for illustration Tumblr, it was much "freeform." Then Facebook came on and standardized connection pinch templates, and nan remainder of nan net followed suit, he said.

There's expanding liking successful "expressivity" again, nan CEO said, and TikTok and Instagram stories are allowing group to thin into it. Snapchat, which is especially celebrated for kids and teens correct now, "captivates group because it's ace casual," Simons said.

"I deliberation pinch Daze, we've benignant of taken that a measurement further wherever you tin conscionable nonstop a silly photograph aliases you tin make a drafting aliases make small collage," Simons said. "So it feels moreover much casual and playful."

The app will beryllium free, and Simons said nan startup plans to monetize by offering users nan expertise to salary to unlock animated matter styles aliases image effect filters. It's an opportunity to merge AI arsenic good done various formats.

Simons pointed to a viral trend of group squishing an image of personification and said he sees a akin type of premium characteristic pinch Daze.

"So you could image personification paying a mini magnitude to fundamentally unlock nan expertise to use those sorts of effects to photos," Simons said. "And then, it's for illustration you nonstop maine a selfie, and I inflate it and you float away."

Daze is launching astatine a clip erstwhile it's difficult to person group to alteration their texting habits and download a caller app. An October 2023 study from Emarketer, a sister institution to Business Insider, said that smartphone users aren't downloading aliases utilizing arsenic galore apps.

The startup will request to person group to effort Daze complete competitors for illustration Snapchat and arsenic tech giants for illustration Apple and Google adhd features to their ain messaging products, including AI-generated visuals for illustration nan upcoming "Genmoji," successful an effort to clasp their personification base.

Daze isn't needfully trying to switch different apps though. Simons said he sees group utilizing different messaging apps for different group successful their lives, and he sees Daze being a spot to link pinch adjacent friends. There isn't a request to usage expressive features to connection group for illustration your doctor, he said.

Simons envisions Daze yet expanding into a larger societal platform. For now, though, he said nan startup is focused connected making "something really cool" that attracts millions of users. As nan institution validates its marketplace fresh and gets much group connected board, Simons said it will put much effort toward monetizing it.

Daze launches November 4 for iPhone and Android.