Nathaneo Johnson
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies. (May 2025) |
Nathaneo Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson in 2025 | |
| Born | October 31, 2003 |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | Yale University |
| Occupation | Tech Entrepreneur |
| Notable work | Series |
| Website | nathaneo |
Nathaneo Johnson (born 31 October 2003) is a tech entrepreneur who is the Founder of Series, an AI-powered social networking platform.[1] He is currently a junior at Yale University studying Computer Science and Economics.[2] In 2025, Johnson and his co-founder, Sean Hargrow, raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding for Series.
Series
[edit]Series functions as an “AI-powered social network” where users interact with an “AI Friend,” a chatbot that helps identify valuable networking connections within the platform.[1] Johnson described the platform’s mission as “engineering serendipity” by enabling people to meet others who offer mutual value, such as mentors, co-founders, or investors, rather than boosting follower counts.[2]
Johnson publicly differentiated Series from traditional social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, arguing that the existing paradigm of online validation is outdated. He described the venture as a “direct foil to the Harvard story,” referencing the founding of Facebook by Harvard students, and emphasized Series’ aim to build a new narrative for underrepresented founders in tech.[3]
Fundraising and growth
[edit]In early 2025, Johnson and Hargrow raised $3.1 million in pre-seed funding in just 14 days after Johnson posted a trailer for Series on LinkedIn that went viral within the college entrepreneurial community.[4] The round was led by former Andreessen Horowitz partner Anne Lee Skates, now with Parable VC. Other participants included Pear VC, DGB.VC, 47th Street, Radicle Impact, Uncommon Projects, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and GPTZero founder Edward Tian.[5]
The funding allowed the founders to grow the platform’s team, expand outreach to universities across the United States, and launch premium membership offerings. As of early 2025, Series reported over 20,000 messages exchanged on the platform within a single week, which includes messages sent by their AI assistants, which send around 5 messages per 1 user message. [4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Bradley, Sydney (2025-04-08). "A new AI startup founded by Yale students wants to compete with LinkedIn. Read the pitch deck it used to raise $3M". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ a b Zimmerman, Micah (2025-04-10). "Yale Students Raised $3M in 14 Days for 'Anti-Facebook' Startup". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "Yale students raise $3.1M in 14 days for AI-powered social platform". Hartford Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ a b Dorisca, Samantha (April 10, 2025). "Yale's Nathaneo Johnson And Sean Hargrow Secure $3.1M To Rival LinkedIn, Reportedly The Most VC Raised For Current Ivy League Students". YahooFinance. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Yale Juniors Raise $3.1M In 14 Days For Their New AI Social Network". POCIT. Telling the stories and thoughts of the underrepresented in tech. 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
External links
[edit]- Living people
- 2003 births
- Entrepreneurship
- Computer scientists
- People from Irvine, California
- Podcasters
- American chief executives
- American technology businesspeople
- American technology company founders
- American technology chief executives
- American Internet company founders
- American computer scientists
- American computer programmers