Pitch Deck: Sequence Raises $3M to Assist Gen Z Community Utilizing AI

Might AI shake up skilled networking?

Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, each college students at Yale College, suppose so.

The 2 faculty juniors based Sequence, an AI social community that matches folks over textual content messages, in 2024 as a brand new method for Gen Z college students to seek out skilled connections. The startup simply secured $3.1 million in pre-seed funding.

The founders mentioned one of many greatest issues they noticed in skilled networking was that social media platforms — like LinkedIn, X (previously Twitter), or Instagram — had grow to be bloated with vainness metrics like follower counts and likes.

“I see it inside our technology, the FOMO, the I am not adequate, I will not attain out to that individual, he is higher than me,” Hargrow informed Enterprise Insider. “Overlook your likes, neglect your followers, let’s concentrate on who you might be and what you’ll be able to carry to the desk and what you want, and what any individual else can carry to your desk if it is sensible.”

Sequence lets customers chat with an “AI Buddy” over iMessage or SMS about the kind of connection they’re searching for, resembling a cofounder, investor, or mentor. The AI agent will search the Sequence community to discover a match. For example, I obtained assigned an AI Buddy “Stevie,” who informed me over textual content that it might “begin scouting for the very best connections” and hit up certainly one of its different AI Mates, “Oliver.”

If each — human — customers choose into the match, Sequence will join them instantly over textual content in a gaggle chat, simulating a heat introduction.

The startup suits right into a broader development of AI disrupting client expertise, which has revitalized investor curiosity in corporations making use of AI to areas like social networks and even courting.

“There’s this new space opening up due to the expertise,” Johnson mentioned. “Now, it is about who can seize that house the quickest.”

Since launching its first chatbot in the summertime of 2024, Sequence has expanded to over 500 universities. Whilst you can arrange an account and not using a scholar electronic mail (like I did), utilizing a university scholar electronic mail lets customers entry options like group chats. As Sequence grows, the founders mentioned in its pitch deck shared with traders that it plans to develop past scholar entrepreneurs {and professional} networking.

The startup can also be constructing out early monetization with premium options for enterprise customers, which can embody completely different paid tiers that unlock further AI brokers and extra customization.

Sequence’ $3.1 million pre-seed spherical was led by Anne Lee Skates, a former accomplice at Andreessen Horowitz. It included participation from Pear VC, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and Tim Draper’s Draper Goren Blockchain, amongst others.

Learn the 11-page pitch deck Sequence used to lift its $3.1 million pre-seed:

Word: The corporate redacted some slides and particulars within the deck.