The invisible social barrier imposed by green and blue text bubbles has long bothered Eric Migicovsky, CEO and co-founder of Beeper Inc. Now, it’s something that Migicovsky hopes can be rendered obsolete.
"There's no good reason why someone who's on iMessage can't text a person who's on an Android phone," Migicovsky said.
It's that sentiment that prompted the serial entrepreneur to launch Beeper Mini, an app that allows Android users to access the capabilities of iMessage, on Tuesday.
Migicovsky, himself a 13-year Android user, said by launching Beeper Mini the Palo Alto-based company is taking the initiative to break down some social barriers placed by tech titans Google and Apple not making Android and iPhone messaging systems interoperable. It’s a move that should have been done already because it “wouldn’t be that hard," he added.
"There's a lot of artificial barriers that exist between us," Migicovsky, a fomer partner at Y Combinator, said. "Communication used to be pretty simple. You know, you dial the phone number, and you could chat with anyone. And over the last 20 years, these artificial silos have sprung up. They separate us. Logically, they should be able to message each other. It only comes down to the large tech companies that control these networks."
Beeper, a company Migicovsky co-founded in 2020 and then took through the Y Combinator program a year later, launched with the idea of being a multi-network chat support platform. Migicovsky said he hopes the company’s original app will support 15 different networks like Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Google Chat, Android SMS, iMessage and more. That app, now called Beeper Cloud, is still in a private beta mode.
That makes Beeper Mini, available for $1.99 a month, as the company's first official launch. According to Migicovsky, it functions like Apple's iMessage by being able to send and receive high-resolution photos and videos, support threads, replies, read receipts, direct messages and group chats, editing and unsending messages, as well as support voice notes. All messages sent through the platform allow users to send and receive end-to-end encrypted messages, he said.
Some features are not live on the platform yet, like location sharing, message effects and FaceTime capabilities.
Migicovsky said there is no need for an Apple ID and the app works by connecting directly with Apple's servers and ensures Beeper nor Apple can see messages being shared. He added users just need to download the Beeper Mini app, register their phone number and they can begin messaging.
Migicovsky, former CEO and co-founder of Pebble Technologies and a former partner at YC, said with the app looking similarly to iMessage and hosting similar functions he expects a message from the tech giant. But for now, he said, he hasn't heard from them
But Apple should be supportive of Beeper’s move and efforts, he added.
"Apple is a company that claims to be all about privacy," Migicovsky said. "You see the billboards on the 101 (freeway) saying iPhone equals privacy, and I find it kind of weird that iPhone users couldn't actually have high quality encrypted conversation with friends."
Two years ago, Apple filed a lawsuit against the NSO Group, a spyware maker, to prevent the company from using its services. It could make a legal case against Beeper, but for now Migicovsky said he'll rely on the notion that "Mini makes iPhone users have a better experience."
Apple did not responded to the Business Journal’s request for comment.
To date Beeper has raised $11.63 million in funding and was last valued at $81.5 million, according to PitchBook Data. Beeper has backers such as Y Combinator and Samsung Next Ventures.
