Photon hosts virtual 'funeral' for mobile apps as IT secures $4.5M to build AI agents

Photon, an AI startup, hosted a symbolic 'funeral' for mobile apps in San Francisco on September 17, signaling its belief that agents will eventually replace traditional apps. The event, which included a coffin for app icons, was also a developer day featuring panels from Vercel, Stripe, and OpenAI. Photon, which helps developers build agents for messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding. The company claims to have attracted over 40,000 developers and achieved 10x revenue growth in four months. Co-founder Daniel Tian emphasized that the shift from apps to agents is inevitable, despite the transition taking time. Photon’s tools allow developers to create agents across multiple platforms, including iMessage, WhatsApp, and email. The startup’s open-source version remains widely used, accounting for 98% of its activity.