Hajra Naz
Twitter cofounder Biz Stone and Pinterest cofounder Evan Sharp are quietly betting that social media doesn’t have to be this harmful.
The longtime Silicon Valley leaders have raised fresh funding for their new startup, West Co., a company built around a provocative question: Can a social app help repair some of the emotional and psychological damage caused by modern social platforms?
West Co launched an invite-only version of its first product, an app called Tangle, in November. While the company has kept a low public profile so far, new details have begun to emerge through comments from Stone and Sharp, regulatory filings, job postings, and reporting by the Financial Times.
According to those filings, West Co has raised $29 million in seed funding, led by venture capital firm Spark Capital. The round signals serious investor confidence—not just in the founders’ track records, but in the idea that social media may be ready for a fundamental reset.
A Reaction to 15 Years of Social Media Harm
Sharp, who is serving as CEO of West Co, framed the company’s mission in unusually candid terms.
“What could I build that might help address just some of the terrible devastation of the human mind and heart that we’ve wrought over the last 15 years?” Sharp told the Financial Times.
It’s a striking admission from one of the architects of modern social platforms. Pinterest, like Twitter, helped define how billions of people consume information, express identity, and measure validation online. Now, Sharp and Stone appear to be reckoning with the unintended consequences of those systems—ranging from anxiety and comparison culture to addiction-driven engagement models.
West Co is positioned as a deliberate counterpoint to the dopamine-optimized feeds that dominate today’s social landscape.
Read More: The Future of Social Media Is Arriving, But It’s Complicated
How Tangle Works—and Why It’s Different
In its early form, Tangle doesn’t ask users what they want to post, share, or promote. Instead, it opens with a far more reflective prompt:
“What’s your intention for today?”
Users can share daily intentions or goals. They share them with a small, trusted circle of friends. The focus shifts from performance to presence. There are no likes to chase. There is no pressure to go viral. Instead, the app encourages planning. It helps users document what their days are really like. Over time, it reveals deeper patterns shaping their lives.
According to the founders, the goal is not constant engagement but meaningful reflection.
This approach aligns with a broader movement in tech toward “calm technology,” digital minimalism, and tools that support mental well-being rather than exploit attention. Unlike mainstream platforms, Tangle appears to prioritize smaller networks, slower interactions, and personal growth over scale and virality.
A Product Still in Flux
Despite the funding and early interest, West Co is not presenting Tangle as a finished vision.
Stone told the Financial Times the app could change a lot before a full public launch. Nothing is set in stone yet. The team is still experimenting with its format, features, and even its core ideas. That kind of openness is rare in an industry that usually rushes products to market.
Job listings tied to West Co suggest bigger ambitions. The company may be thinking beyond a single app. It could eventually build a broader set of tools focused on healthier digital habits.
Read More: Pew Study Reveals How Teens Use Social Media and AI Chatbots
A Growing Tech Reckoning
West Co is launching at a time of growing concern around social media’s impact. Governments are debating age limits. Researchers are publishing troubling data on teen mental health. Tech insiders are also starting to question whether engagement-first platforms are sustainable.
In that context, West Co doesn’t feel like a small experiment. It looks more like part of a wider rethink happening inside Silicon Valley itself.
Whether Tangle can succeed where countless “healthier social networks” have struggled remains an open question. But with founders who helped create the modern social web—and who now appear determined to rethink it—West Co is positioning itself as one of the most philosophically ambitious startups in the space.
For an industry built on moving fast and scaling relentlessly, West Co is asking something far more uncomfortable: What if social media slowed down—and actually helped people feel better?
