The concept of reinventing email has been a long-standing desire for many startups, with some even managing to change the way we work. However, despite these efforts, email remains an essential tool in our daily lives. RedKix, a company launching its private beta today, aims to bridge this gap by combining the simplicity and ubiquity of email with the real-time messaging features of collaboration tools.
A New Approach to Email
RedKix has secured $17 million in seed funding from prominent investors, including Salesforce Ventures, Wicklow Capital, SG VC, Oren Zeev, Ori Sasson (one of the first investors in VMware), and others. This significant investment will enable RedKix to further develop its platform, which sits on top of existing email accounts (currently supporting Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, and Google Apps). Users can still communicate with anyone who has an email account, regardless of whether they are on RedKix or not.
A Hybrid Approach
When a contact is on RedKix, users will have access to features like typing indicators, read receipts, and real-time messaging between users. However, for those who are not on the service, conversations will be delivered as regular emails. This hybrid approach allows every email conversation to become an ad-hoc chat channel for RedKix users.
Beyond Email
RedKix goes beyond traditional email by offering a more traditional subjectless chat feature (think Slack channels) and group messaging, which works similar to ad-hoc email lists. According to Antebi, the current version represents the foundation of what the company wants to build. "Making email real-time is a massive challenge," he said. "Separate inboxes don’t know about the existence of one another, for example."
Enterprise-Friendly
RedKix has geared its service toward enterprises, ensuring that it plays well with existing email policies and other security and retention features set up by enterprise admins. As Antebi noted, "We are very IT-friendly. Everything we do is fully synced with your email service." The company will also offer its own control tools in its enterprise edition.
Integration with Third-Party Services
The team at RedKix is now exploring how to integrate third-party services, similar to Slack’s approach. Antebi showed an early demo of a JIRA integration and mentioned that the company is working on other integrations as well.
A Step Forward in Communication
RedKix aims to revolutionize email by providing real-time messaging features while maintaining the simplicity and ubiquity of traditional email. By offering a hybrid approach, RedKix has created a platform that can be used by both individuals and enterprises alike.
About RedKix
RedKix is a startup that aims to bring real-time messaging to the masses by combining the simplicity and ubiquity of email with collaboration tools features. With $17 million in seed funding from prominent investors, RedKix is poised to revolutionize communication as we know it.
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