Snap Inc acquires social calendar app Saturn to deepen Gen Z engagement

Snap Inc has acquired Saturn, a social calendar app utilized by highschool college students throughout the US, the corporate confirmed on Friday. Whereas monetary phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed, the app will proceed to function independently for now.

Based in 2018 by Dylan Diamond and Max Baron, Saturn helps college students handle rotation calendars, block schedules, lunch waves, and different educational timetables — a distinct segment that has made it broadly adopted amongst youngsters. Based on the corporate, over 80% of UShigh colleges use Saturn, positioning it as a extremely engaged platform for Gen Z customers.

As a part of the acquisition, Saturn’s full staff of round 30 staff will be a part of Snap Inc, based on tech information publications TechCrunch.

The transfer is anticipated to assist Snap incorporate social planning and time-management options extra seamlessly into Snapchat, reinforcing its efforts to remain related with youthful audiences.

Saturn had beforehand raised $44 million in funding from traders together with General Catalyst, Perception Companions, Coatue, Bezos Expeditions, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. The app’s origin traces again to when cofounder Dylan Diamond, then a highschool pupil, constructed an early model to assist classmates handle their schedules — a instrument that noticed 90% adoption on his campus, finally laying the inspiration for Saturn.

Snap has lengthy positioned itself as a “digicam firm” with a social core, and this acquisition aligns with its broader technique of constructing personalised, utility-driven instruments for its Gen Z person base. The mixing of Saturn’s options might supply Snap new avenues to spice up day by day engagement and prolong time spent on the platform — an space of accelerating focus amid competitors from TikTok and BeReal.