Mixed Media Labs

Mixed Media Labs was established in 2010 by Dalton Caldwell, a Stanford University alumnus with degrees in symbolic systems and psychology. Caldwell's prior entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding the social media service Imeem, which was ultimately acquired by MySpace. Following his time at Imeem, he founded Mixed Media Labs, which joined the Y Combinator accelerator's Winter 2010 batch.

The firm's initial product was picplz, a mobile photo-sharing application. Subsequently, the company shifted its focus and began operating under the name App.net. This new venture was a subscription-based social network and platform for mobile application development, positioned as an ad-free alternative to mainstream social media. The business model relied on subscriptions from users and developers rather than advertising revenue. App.net aimed to provide a platform for creating and distributing mobile applications for both iOS and Android.

The company secured venture funding from notable investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Felicis Ventures. A significant event in the company's history occurred in 2012 when Marc Andreessen stepped down from the board to avoid a conflict of interest, with Scott Weiss of Andreessen Horowitz taking his place. Despite its initial premise, App.net did not achieve a sufficient subscription base to sustain full-time operations. In May 2014, it was announced that while the service would remain online, further development would cease. According to Y Combinator's directory, the company is currently listed as inactive.

Keywords: Dalton Caldwell, App.net, picplz, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, social network, developer platform, subscription-based, mobile applications, photo sharing, ad-free social media, Imeem, social media history, venture capital, startup funding, iOS development, Android development, user-supported network, digital media, tech entrepreneurship