Listen to this articlePoncho was founded by Kuan Huang while he was a hacker-in-residence at betaworks in 2014. It began as an email and text message service before launching as one of the first bots on Facebook at the F8 conference in 2016. Poncho is inspired by Kuan’s mom who personally delivered his weather forecast to him throughout college.
Below is our interview with Ashley D’Arcy, Head of Creative at Poncho:
Q: You’ve recently announced $2.4 Million in Seed funding round; could you tell us something more?
A: Poncho secured $2.4M in funding in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners (LSVP) with participation from Comcast Ventures, betaworks, RRE Ventures, Venture 51, Abstract Partners, Guardian Media Group and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Recommended: Q: What exactly does Poncho do?
A: Poncho’s a cat living in Brooklyn who sends you a helpful message with your weather forecast and something fun to get your day started right. It might be an astrological outlook, a word of the day, or a mantra! Plus, you can chat with him about almost anything, weather-related or not, on Messenger.
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Q: On what platforms is Poncho available?
A: Poncho is available as an app on iOS and Android, as a bot on Messenger, Kik, Viber, and Slack, and via SMS and email. Poncho also has stickers for iMessage! Check them out!
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Q: What makes you the best choice?
A: Other weather apps are boring and full of numbers. Poncho brings your weather right to the lock screen and in plain language so you know if you need to bring a jacket, an umbrella, or your beach towel! With a healthy dose of humor and personality provided by a talented team of writers, Poncho brightens up your morning, whatever the weather.
