Meerkat removed from iOS App store
What's the story
Ben Rubin, the CEO of Meerkat developer Life On Air Inc., announced that live-streaming app Meerkat had been removed from the iOS app store, calling it a "bittersweet" moment. The announcement was made roughly a week after Rubin announced Life On Air's new private video chatting app called Houseparty.
Meerkat
What is Meerkat?
Launched in February 2015 by Life On Air Inc., Meerkat quickly became a sensation. The app allowed its users to broadcast live video streams through their smartphones. Users further had the option to link their Meerkat account to their Facebook and Twitter account which enabled them to broadcast live videos directly to their followers.
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Meerkat's finance
While the CEO of Life on Air, Ben Rubin, did not share much financial details in interviews, it is known that Meerkat raised $18.2 million in four rounds of financing.
Houseparty
Life on Air's new venture: Houseparty
Life on Air's new venture Houseparty was built in secrecy for months. Before its official launch on 28th September, it was launched on the Android and iOS app store with the developer name listed as "Alexander Herzick". It quickly became number 2 in Apple App Store's downloads list. The video chatting app allows users to jump into "parties" of 8 people simultaneously.
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Houseparty's popularity
After Houseparty rose to number 2 in Apple App Store's download list, "Alexander Herzick" (for whom fake Facebook and LinkedIn pages were created) received several emails from venture capitalists requesting a meeting. Life On Air responded to the venture capitalists by sending Daft Punk GIFs.