privacy-focused
(2)
Hornet
Hornet is a queer social network and mobile app for gay, bi, trans, and queer men, built around community, content, and connection rather than pure hookups. Launched in 2011 and led by founder and CEO Christof Wittig, the company (operating as Hornet Networks / Queer Networks) has grown to more than 30 million members, positioning itself as one of the largest gay social platforms in the world and a frequently cited competitor to Grindr.
Willow
Willow is a San Francisco startup building voice-first interfaces that turn natural speech into polished text across every app on Mac, Windows, and iPhone. Founded in 2024 by Stanford dropouts Allan Guo and Lawrence Liu and backed by Y Combinator, Willow promises roughly 3x the accuracy of built-in dictation with ~200ms response time, automatic filler-word removal, style-matching, and an AI mode that reshapes rough spoken notes into finished messages. The company raised $4.2M in seed funding and has grown roughly 50% month over month, with early enterprise users including Uber, Heidi Health, and Zego.