Human Health

Why We Invested in Mozi

Creating more connection IRL

James Joaquin | 12/12/2024

Connection. It’s a fundamental human need and as essential to our survival as food, water, and shelter. Studies show that our relationships with others are vital to our physical, mental, and emotional health and the well-being of our communities. 

When the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness an epidemic last year, he pointed out that across all age groups, people are spending less time together in person and that this isolation can lead to very real physical health issues. The remedy? More in-person connection. 

This realization also came to Obvious co-founder Ev Williams two years ago as he was emerging from pandemic-enforced isolation and going through some major life changes. Ev concluded that: “Relationships determine almost everything.”

Enter Mozi: a true social network designed to get you together in person with people you know and strengthen relationships. Ev co-founded Mozi with Molly DeWolf Swenson, who was previously co-founder of the immersive media company RYOT. Obvious is leading the Mozi Seed round with a $4M investment.

“Is the answer to just put our phones down? Yes!” says Ev. “But, also, can technology help us get to the right place with the right people so we want to put our phones down? We think so.”

Mozi does this by empowering “social serendipity” and letting you know when you will be in the same city or event as someone you know. That means if you know you’ll be in LA in January, your friends on Mozi will see where you’ll be, and you can make plans to connect in person.  

We like to think of Mozi as a forward-looking Find My Friends. We’re excited to roll up our sleeves and help Ev and Molly continue to evolve Mozi, leading to more real-world meetups, stronger, healthier relationships, and, ultimately, better lives.

The Mozi app is available now for iOS. Install it and start finding your Mozi moments!