Snap Inc ., the parent company of Snapchat, recently revealed in its earnings report that it has acquired Saturn . This calendaring tool is explicitly made for high school and college students. This smart move deepens Snap’s engagement offerings. Today, it includes a platform that students use to manage their calendars and make social connections. The agreement brings about 30 Saturn full-time employees to the new deal. This latest development underscores Snap’s commitment to building immersive experiences for its users.
Founded in 2018, Saturn built up momentum among schools in a matter of months. Today, it has recognition from nearly 80% of U.S. high schools. The app provides students with key organizational tools to retain control over their school schedules, while giving students the power to share their schedules with classmates. This collaborative aspect is perhaps the biggest departure from the typical calendaring experience, and it takes the form of social features that foster community building and excitement between users.
Saturn first came to national prominence in the tech community during a series A Funding round in 2021, raising $44 million. This funding round was led by giants of the investor world like General Catalyst, Insight Partners, and Coatue Management. Its high-profile participants included Bezos Expeditions and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. In addition, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as well as investors Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary from Sound Ventures participated in the event. Having support from such powerful and influential figures certainly underscores the potential of Saturn to change the way students engage with their overall academic journey.
Snap’s acquisition of Saturn is a positive step and fits perfectly with Snap’s overall vision of creating real-world connections through their digital ecosystem. By integrating Saturn’s capabilities, Snap aims to create a more dynamic scheduling tool that resonates with the lifestyle and needs of students. The company thinks that Saturn has managed to make the otherwise fairly boring process of making a schedule more enjoyable.
Under the terms of the acquisition Saturn will continue to operate independently as a separate app. This model enables Saturn to maintain its distinct brand personality, voice and tone, but still access Snap’s in-demand resources and expertise. The majority of Saturn’s team will join Snap, further enriching the company’s talent pool with individuals who have demonstrated success in developing innovative solutions for student engagement.
Engadget was the first to report the news of the acquisition. This represents an important turning point in the tech landscape, as the major players are focused not only on introducing social features to their productivity engines.
