Close Menu
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI
  • Apps
  • Crypto
  • Security
  • Startups
  • TechCrunch
  • Venture

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

What's Hot

Everyone in high tech has an opinion about Soham Parekh

July 3, 2025

All stages of TechCrunch regain early release prices for limited time

July 3, 2025

Not everyone is excited about DMs on the thread

July 3, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI

    OpenAI seeks to extend human lifespans with the help of longevity startups

    January 17, 2025

    Farewell to the $200 million woolly mammoth and TikTok

    January 17, 2025

    Nord Security founder launches Nexos.ai to help enterprises move AI projects from pilot to production

    January 17, 2025

    Data proves it remains difficult for startups to raise capital, even though VCs invested $75 billion in the fourth quarter

    January 16, 2025

    Apple suspends AI notification summaries for news after generating false alerts

    January 16, 2025
  • Apps

    Not everyone is excited about DMs on the thread

    July 3, 2025

    Meta has found another way to engage you: message that message first

    July 3, 2025

    Everything you need to know about Flash, Blueski-based Instagram alternatives

    July 3, 2025

    Substack brings new updates to live streaming as it increases video push

    July 2, 2025

    Amazon shuts down the Freevee app in August

    July 2, 2025
  • Crypto

    Vitalik Buterin reserves for Sam Altman's global project

    June 28, 2025

    Calci will close a $185 million round as rival Polymeruk reportedly seeks $200 million

    June 25, 2025

    Stablecoin Evangelist: Katie Haun's Battle of Digital Dollars

    June 22, 2025

    Hackers steal and destroy millions of Iran's biggest crypto exchanges

    June 18, 2025

    Unique, a new social media app

    June 17, 2025
  • Security

    Ransomware Gang Hunter International says it's shut down

    July 3, 2025

    India's biggest finance says hackers have accessed customer data from insurance units

    July 2, 2025

    Data breaches reveal that Catwatchful's “Stalkerware” is spying on thousands of phones

    July 2, 2025

    Hacking, Leaking, Exposure: Do not use stalkerware apps

    July 2, 2025

    Qantas Hacks lead to theft of personal data for 6 million passengers

    July 2, 2025
  • Startups

    7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

    March 24, 2025

    AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

    March 24, 2025

    20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

    March 22, 2025

    Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

    March 21, 2025

    Startup Weekly: Wiz bets paid off at M&A Rich Week

    March 21, 2025
  • TechCrunch

    OpenSea takes a long-term view with a focus on UX despite NFT sales remaining low

    February 8, 2024

    AI will save software companies' growth dreams

    February 8, 2024

    B2B and B2C are not about who buys, but how you sell

    February 5, 2024

    It's time for venture capital to break away from fast fashion

    February 3, 2024

    a16z's Chris Dixon believes it's time to focus on blockchain use cases rather than speculation

    February 2, 2024
  • Venture

    Everyone in high tech has an opinion about Soham Parekh

    July 3, 2025

    All stages of TechCrunch regain early release prices for limited time

    July 3, 2025

    Kristen Craft brings fresh fundraising strategies to every stage

    July 3, 2025

    The Y Combinator alumni have launched a new $34 million fund dedicated to YC startups.

    July 3, 2025

    Learn how to tighten a cap table with TC All Stage 2025

    July 3, 2025
TechBrunchTechBrunch

With Easel, former Snap researchers are building the next generation of Bitmoji thanks to AI

TechBrunchBy TechBrunchApril 23, 20245 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email


Easel is a new startup founded by two former Snap employees at the intersection of generative AI and social trends. The company is working on an app that lets you create images of yourself and your friends doing cool things right from your favorite guy's iMessage conversations.

There's a reason why the co-founders said they worked at Snap before founding Easel. Snap may never reach the scale of Instagram or TikTok, but it's certainly the most innovative social company since social apps started taking over smartphone home screens.

Before Apple made augmented reality and virtual reality cool again, Snap paved the way for AR with Lenses. Even if you've never actually used Snapchat, you've probably used a weird lens on your phone or someone else's phone. This feature had a huge cultural impact.

Similarly, Snap made an interesting move when it acquired Bitmoji in 2016, before Meta invested heavily in Horizon Worlds and its Reality Labs division to try to make virtual avatars cool again. I did. At the time, people thought it was a feature that allowed them to create virtual avatars. It was just a fad to use it to communicate with friends. Now, with Memoji in iMessage and FaceTime, and Meta avatars appearing in Meta apps, virtual avatars have become a fun and innovative way to express yourself.

“I was at Snap for five years. Before that I was at Stanford. I moved to Los Angeles to join Bobby Murphy's research team at Snap, where I worked on various futuristic things. Rajan Vaish, co-founder and CEO of Easel, told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. He was a senior research engineer at Snap and he co-founded Easel with Sven Kratz.

However, the team was disbanded in 2022 as part of various job cuts by Snap. The two used this opportunity to bounce back and continue to innovate, but outside of the snap.

AI as a personal communication vector

Easel uses generative AI to allow users to create Bitmoji-style stickers of themselves drinking coffee, relaxing at the beach, or riding a bike. It can be anything as long as it can be described and generated by an AI model.

When you first start using Easel, it captures your face for a few seconds so the company can create a personalized AI model and use it to generate stickers. Easel currently uses Stable Diffusion technology to create images. The fact that you can generate an image of your face is a bit strange, but also much more appealing than your average AI-generated image.

“You provide us with a photo, and we start training it on our servers. We then create an AI avatar model. We now know what your face looks like, what your hair looks like, etc. etc.,” Vaish said.

But Easel is more than just an image generation product. It's a multiplayer experience that comes alive through conversation. The startup chose to integrate Easel into its native iOS messaging app so that you can just swap out funny personalized stickers without having to migrate to a new platform or create a new social graph.

Instead, sending easel stickers works just like sending images via iMessage. On the receiving end, tapping the image opens an easel above the conversation. That way, your friends can also install the easel and remix your stickers. This is also one of the key features of her Bitmoji, allowing you to create a scene with both you and your friends inside the sticker to increase its virality.

Image credit: Easel

Easel allows you to create more highly customized personal stickers than Bitmoji. For example, let's say you want a sticker that says you'll be having cocktails with friends in Paris soon. You can also use a Bitmoji to drink a generic cocktail, but it won't look like Paris. (And you've already seen this Bitmoji many times.) Easel, on the other hand, allows you to design background scenes, locations, and scenarios in which your personal avatar appears, thanks to generative AI .

Finally, Easel users can also share their stickers to the app's public feed to inspire others. This could create a kind of seasonality within the app, for example he would see a lot of fireworks stickers around the 4th of July. This is also an example of his laid-back use of Easel, where you can scroll until you find a sticker you like, tap “Remix,” and send a similar sticker (but with your face on it) to your friends.

Easel has already secured $2.65 million in funding from a variety of angel investors, including Unusual Ventures, f7 Ventures, Corazon Capital, and several Stanford University professors.

Now, let's see how well the easel integrates into people's conversations. “We've learned two very unique use cases. One is that there's a lot of demographics that don't feel very comfortable sharing their faces,” Vaish said. “I'm not a selfie taker, and there are a lot of people who aren't. This allows them to share what they're doing in a more visual format.”

“The second thing is that easels allow people to stay in the moment,” he added, noting that sometimes you don't want to pull out your phone and capture the moment. But easels allow for visual communication even after the fact.



Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Not everyone is excited about DMs on the thread

July 3, 2025

Meta has found another way to engage you: message that message first

July 3, 2025

Everything you need to know about Flash, Blueski-based Instagram alternatives

July 3, 2025

Substack brings new updates to live streaming as it increases video push

July 2, 2025

Amazon shuts down the Freevee app in August

July 2, 2025

A guide to using editing, Meta's new Capcut Rival for Short-Form video editing

July 2, 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Reviews
Editors Picks

7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

March 24, 2025

AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

March 24, 2025

20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

March 22, 2025

Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

March 21, 2025
About Us
About Us

Welcome to Tech Brunch, your go-to destination for cutting-edge insights, news, and analysis in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cryptocurrency, Technology, and Startups. At Tech Brunch, we are passionate about exploring the latest trends, innovations, and developments shaping the future of these dynamic industries.

Our Picks

Everyone in high tech has an opinion about Soham Parekh

July 3, 2025

All stages of TechCrunch regain early release prices for limited time

July 3, 2025

Not everyone is excited about DMs on the thread

July 3, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

© 2025 TechBrunch. Designed by TechBrunch.
  • Home
  • About Tech Brunch
  • Advertise with Tech Brunch
  • Contact us
  • DMCA Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.