Have you ever wanted to have a live chat with 11 of your closest friends? Well, even before this week, you could’ve done it using video chat app Rounds — but only on iOS.
Now, however, the majority of Rounds users (namely, the ones on Android) will have access to the company’s group chat feature, too. CMO Natasha Shine gave me a quick demo of the Android app last week, bringing on five or six of her coworkers into a single chat without any noticeable lag. We had a brief, awkward conversation, and Shine customized it by dragging the different faces around to her liking. She also created crude drawings (no offense Natasha!) that were shared with the other people in the chat.
Shine said each group has a unique identifying code that can be shared on social media or email. There’s no limit on group size, but only 12 people can join a group at once. And now that Android is supported, the groups can be cross-platform.
I wrote about Rounds earlier this year after it raised a $12 million funding round led by Sequoia. At the time, CEO Dany Fishel said the company has grown quickly to 25 million registered users thanks to a “100 percent shift to mobile.” It’s not just about talking, but also doing other things with your friends as you chat, like watching videos or playing games.
While the company is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, there are plans to establish a US presence — starting with Shine herself, who will be moving to the San Francisco Bay Area later this year.
