Photon held a funeral for mobile apps. Now it has $4.5M to help replace them with agents.
The startup helps developers build AI agents that work over iMessage, SMS/RCS, email, and other messaging platforms. It's a bet that consumers will increasingly use agents instead of downloading apps.
Get smart on it
An AI startup has raised $4.5 million in seed funding to build tools that enable developers to create agents operating through messaging apps like iMessage and WhatsApp rather than standalone mobile applications. The company held a literal funeral for mobile apps to highlight its belief that agents accessed through existing messaging platforms will eventually replace traditional app installation. The startup's open source technology has attracted over 40,000 developer sign-ups and paying customers across fintech, consumer AI, and other sectors, with the company reporting 10x revenue growth over four months and minimal user churn.
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DeepSeek Harness v0.2 Brings Official Desktop Apps to Its Open-Source Agent Harness
DeepSeek has released an official desktop app for DeepSeek Harness (dsh), its open-source agent harness. The app ships with the v0.2 preview. Installers cover macOS (Apple silicon) and Windows (64-bit). Is it deployable? Yes, today, as a preview. Download it from deepseek.com/harness or run npx @deepseek-ai/dsh web. DeepSeek warns that compatibility-breaking changes will follow. What Shipped in v0.2 A harness is the runtime that turns a model into an agent. It reads files, runs command
The Agent Said It Was Done. The Database Disagreed.
When AI systems claim task completion without verification, downstream errors can cascade through dependent processes, exposing gaps in reliability for critical workflows.
