This story was first published on the Benzinga India portal.
AngelList co-founder Naval Ravikant has launched a new social media app called Airchat, to take on Elon Musk's hate speech-inundated X, formerly Twitter.
What Happened: Airchat, founded by Ravikant, offers a fresh approach to social media. The platform provides a push-to-talk layout for social media, allowing users to communicate via videos or Clubhouse-like podcasts.
The app depends on AI-powered transcription to enable you to express your views.
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Ravikant has hinted at the use of generative AI in certain features of the app, promising “perfect transcripts” and the ability for users to generate AI art for profile pictures and chat backgrounds.
Responding to a user asking about the end goal of Airchat, Naval said it is to "never feel alone again" and to "prevent the leaders of the world from screaming at each other on Twitter and leading us to a thermonuclear holocaust".
A user posted on X that the app "feels like meeting my neighbours but in a good way".
Airchat is free to use, and those interested can join a waitlist by registering on the official website using their mobile number.
See Also: Elon Musk Reacts As Grimes Shares ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Clip on X
Why It Matters: This is not the first time a social media platform has taken on X. In 2023, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms Inc. launched Threads. After initially struggling, it picked up steam after a few months.
X has been mired in controversies around hate speech on the platform. Companies like Apple Inc. and Walt Disney Co. withdrew ads from X due to concerns about hate speech but Musk accused the companies of blackmailing and went on to call for the firing of Disney CEO Bob Iger.
However, Airchat’s unique features, including push-to-talk and AI integration, could potentially set it apart from other social media platforms.
It remains to be seen if Airchat emerges as a viable alternative to X, or if it fizzles out.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Airchat
