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Daze, a creative, AI-powered messaging app for Gen Z, is blowing up prelaunch

On TikTok, Daze’s most popular video has been viewed 8 million times. Across TikTok and Instagram, the startup behind a new messaging app aimed at Gen Z,

Driving the demand for this next-generation alternative to iMessage and WhatsApp isn’t some smooth-talking influencer or paid advertising, but simply product demo videos of the app in action, which have impressed a younger audience. Founded by New York-based serial entrepreneur Willem Simons, Daze offers a freestyle messaging app that takes its clues from social media. While beta metrics still have to be proven out in the real world, one promising figure shared by a source familiar with the company’s tests indicates that Daze’s 60-day retention for people who have sent a message on the app is more than 50%.

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