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Chert

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iMessage infrastructure for trusted communication at scale

Spring 2026Founded 20262 peopleSan Francisco, CA, USA
Generate ideas β†’
AI insightcan contain mistakes
iMessage Business Messaging InfrastructureSaaSConsumer-facing companies and customer experience teamsLow competition
Moat
Apple iMessage integration and trusted sender status defensible; limited competitor access.
Key risk
Apple platform dependency and policy changes; consumer preference variability; regulatory scrutiny.
Why now
Consumer preference for Apple iMessage and high trust vs. SMS drives adoption of iMessage business messaging.
Competitors
Twilio, Stripe Messaging, Emerging iMessage platforms

About

Chert provides the infrastructure for businesses to automate conversations over iMessage. We’re already working with B2C startups, customer experience teams, and sales teams to reach end users through trusted and conversational messaging.

Founders Β· 2

Ian Fong
Ian FongFounder
MITHarvardPrincetonNYU

My name is Ian. I'm building Chert, the infrastructure that lets teams send, receive, and automate iMessage conversations through our APIs. Before this, I studied mathematics and economics at NYU, did fast algorithm research at Courant, and won 8 hackathons(including MIT, Harvard, Penn, Princeton) along the way. Outside of work, I run triathlons, play Go, and still hit random hackathons with Gary for fun. fun fact: I've lived in a total of 16 cities in 20 years of my life.

Gary Gao
Gary GaoFounder

Hi, I'm Gary, co-founder and CEO at Chert. We're building the infrastructure that lets teams send, receive, and automate iMessage conversations through APIs. Before moving to SF last month, I studied CS and Business at Penn and spent the past year researching ML model architectures, designing neuromorphic chips, and building projects with my co-founder Ian. Outside of this, I like flying planes, running marathons, and reading!

B2BArtificial IntelligenceSaaSAPICustomer SupportConversational AI

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