View source for Co–Star

{{Short description|Astrological social networking service}}
{{Infobox software
| title                  = Co–Star
| name                   = Co–Star
| logo                   =
| screenshot             =
| screenshot size        = 200
| caption                = Co–Star screenshot
| released               = {{Start date and age|mf=yes|2017|10|17}} <!-- This parameter is reserved for the software's earliest known release ONLY, DO NOT add any subsequent releases or developments; those are stated elsewhere in the article.  -->
| discontinued           = No
| operating system       = [[iOS]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]]
| language               = English
| genre                  = [[Astrology|Astrology and social networking]]
| license                = [[Proprietary software]]
| website                = {{URL|https://www.costarastrology.com|costarastrology.com}}
}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Co–Star Astrology Society
| industry = {{Unbulleted list|Astrology|Social networking}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|2017|10|17}}
| founder = {{Unbulleted list|Banu Guler|Anna Kopp|Ben Weitzman}}
| hq_location = [[New York City]]
| website = costarastrology.com
}}
'''Co–Star''' is an American [[Astrology|astrological]] social networking service founded in 2017,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-11 |title=Astrology for millennials: how has Co-Star changed the traditional practice? |url=https://www.diggitmagazine.com/articles/astrology-millennials |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=Diggit Magazine |language=en}}</ref> and headquartered in [[New York City]]. Users enter the date, time and place they were born to receive an astrological chart and daily [[horoscope]]s that they can compare to those of their friends.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hess|first=Amanda|date=2018-01-01|title=How Astrology Took Over the Internet (Published 2018)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/arts/how-astrology-took-over-the-internet.html|access-date=2020-10-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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==History==
Founder and CEO Banu Guler came up with the idea for the app after she gifted a friend's child an astrological chart that became a surprise hit at the baby shower.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Noble|first=Audrey|title=What's Co-Star? Meet the Astrology App That's Intriguing Millennials Everywhere|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/whats-co-star-astrology-app-technology-spirituality|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Vogue|date=September 6, 2019 |language=en-us}}</ref> In 2019, Co–Star raised a $5.2 million [[Seed money|seed round]] from [[Maveron]], [[Theresia Gouw|Aspect]], and 14W, following a $750,000 pre-seed from Female Founders Fund in early 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Co-Star raises $5 million to bring its astrology app to Android|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/17/co-star-astrology-app-seed-round/|access-date=2020-10-13|website=TechCrunch|date=April 17, 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|last=Bryant|first=Kenzie|title=How Astrology App Co–Star Conquered the Millennial Lock Screen|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/05/co-star-astrology-app-notifications-founder|access-date=2020-10-13|magazine=Vanity Fair|language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Meisenzahl|first=Mary|title=One of the internet's favorite horoscope and astrology apps is now on Android after over 120,000 fans begged for it|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/co-star-astrology-app-is-now-available-on-android-2020-1|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Business Insider}}</ref> In January 2020, Co–Star for [[Android (operating system)|Android]] was launched to a 120,000-person waitlist—two years after their [[iOS]] app was launched.<ref name=":1" /> In April 2021, Co–Star announced their $15 million [[Series A]], led by [[Spark Capital]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Astrology app Co-Star raises $15 million in new funding |url=https://www.axios.com/astrology-app-co-star-raises-15-million-funding-906179f9-b3db-40d8-88c0-883e121fab9d.html |website=Axios |access-date=April 26, 2021 |date=April 14, 2021}}</ref> As of that date, Co–Star has more than 20 million downloads and has been downloaded by a quarter of all young women ages 18–25 in the U.S.
== Features ==
Co–Star employs [[artificial intelligence]] to analyze publicly accessible [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|NASA JPL]] data and find patterns in a user's [[Astrological transit|transits]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=EDT|first=Janice Williams On 8/3/19 at 10:17 AM|date=2019-08-03|title=Co-Star is more than just an astrology app, it's a community|url=https://www.newsweek.com/co-star-astrology-app-instagram-1451220|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Newsweek|language=en}}</ref> Co–Star's algorithm maps human-written snippets of text to planetary movements to display personalized content for each user.<ref name=":0" /> That content has been called “slightly robotic,”<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=Allie|date=2019-10-04|title=Inside Co—Star, the smartest (and meanest) astrology app out there|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/4/20879631/co-star-astrology-app-zodiac-signs|access-date=2020-10-13|website=The Verge|language=en}}</ref> “wildly beautiful,”<ref name=":0" /> “truly insane,"<ref>{{Cite web|title=How To Destroy Your Friends Emotionally With Astrology Memes|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scaachikoul/astrology-co-star-astrology-memes|access-date=2020-10-13|website=BuzzFeed News|date=10 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> “brutally honest,”<ref name=":2" /> and compared to “a free therapy session.”<ref>{{Cite web|title=Android Users Can Finally Get in on Co-Star's Brutally Honest Horoscopes|url=https://gizmodo.com/android-users-can-finally-get-in-on-co-star-s-brutally-1841067701|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Gizmodo|date=January 17, 2020 |language=en-us}}</ref>
In July 2023, Co–Star released an in-app service called The Void that allows users to ask open-ended questions and receive answers informed by Co–Star's astrological database.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Is A.I. the Future of Astrology?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/04/style/astrology-co-star-ai.html|access-date=2023-10-06|website=The New York Times|date=July 4, 2023 |language=en-us}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Astrology]]
* [[NASA]]
* [[Timeline of social media]]
==References==
{{reflist|20em}}
==External links==
*[https://www.costarastrology.com Official website] {{in lang|en}}
{{Online social networking}}
{{Most popular social media accounts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Co-Star}}
[[Category:2017 software]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2017]]
[[Category:Android (operating system) software]]
[[Category:IOS software]]
[[Category:Freeware]]
[[Category:Mobile applications]]
[[Category:Social networking services]]
[[Category:Youth culture]]