SkylightA boot that Tiktok receives with a lighter alternative begins its mobile mobile implementation on Tuesday after just 10 weeks of active development. The application, supported by Mark Cuban and others, is now one of the many based on the top of the AT protocol – the same technology that supports the Bluesky Social Network and a growing number of other applications.
Developed by co -founders Tori White (CEO) and Reed Hermeyer (CTO), Skylight offers a small video video experience with many known features, including an in -app video editor. the ability to comment, as well as sharing videos. Set your own user profile. and follow others.
Because it is also built on the In the protocol (or “Atproto” for a short time), users will be used immediately on his bluesky network Over 33.8 million users. This means that videos posted on Skylight can see and deal with Bluesky users and other Atproto -based applications, as well as the most photographed applications, for example.
The company is funded by a pre-seal round by the Cuban, which earlier said this year that it wanted to fund an AT alternative to the AT protocol. Leslie Feinzaig’s Graham & Walker Venture Fund Also invested.
White, who was a travel influence and is now a self -taught software developer living in Seattle, says she and co -founder Hermeyer were inspired to create a skylight when they first heard that Tiktok was banned in the US
In preparation for the ban, which is currently on pause, White had supported the Tiktok videos. But she is still worried about losing access to her community and her comments. She and Hermeyer had already played with Atproto and saw the possibilities.
“The first thing we were interested in at Atproto was that Bluesky was not failing,” Hermeyer told TechCrunch at the atmosphere in Seattle in March. “We did not see ‘Whale Failed’. He said, a report The graphic that appeared in the early days of Twitter When the application is constantly crashing. “This made us feel comfortable for underlying technology.”
Hermeyer and White soon realized that this was the perfect time to build a new social application in the protocol that could be “prohibition resistant”.
Utilizing the background of its influence, White began to substantiate the development of Skylight in Tiktok, which helped exposure the product and create a follower after potentially interested users.
“We started with distribution,” White explained. “I really made a video before we ever write a series of code for this … [so] Anyone can follow our journey as we build, “he told TechCrunch at the conference.” We were like, oh my gosh, we build this thing we think it’s so cool, but no one cares yet. We must therefore build a way to tell people about it so that they will Care, because we know that people need it, “he said.
Today, the white @buildwithtori profile tiktok It has about 50,000 fans, many of whom were converted into early testers.
Like Bluesky, Skylight supports up to three minutes video uploads, a recent increase from previously supported videos. But White sees the skylight become more than a decentralized Tiktok clone.
It implies that the skylight in the future will allow users to adapt their flow, including the use of new gestures beyond swiping and scrolling.
Other features of projects include support for sounds, duets, seams, bookmarks and breeding lists.
The app is on Beta on the Google Play Store and is now publicly available on the Apple App Store after initial tests.
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