Beme

Beme was a multimedia company founded in 2014 by filmmaker and YouTube creator Casey Neistat and technology entrepreneur Matt Hackett. Its first and best-known product was the Beme mobile application, which was designed around spontaneous, unedited short-form video rather than conventional social-media editing and preview tools. The app required users to cover the phone's proximity sensor, for example with a hand or by pressing the device against the body, causing a two-to-eight-second video to be recorded and shared immediately with subscribers. This interaction was intended to reduce staging, retakes, and self-conscious presentation, and to make publishing feel closer to a direct moment of communication than to a conventional edited post. The Beme application launched on Apple's iOS App Store on July 17, 2015. It attracted attention partly because of Neistat's large online following and partly because its product design challenged the preview-and-edit conventions of established social platforms. The service later expanded to Android on May 2, 2016. By May 2016, Neistat said the company had raised approximately $6 million, employed 11 full-time staff, and had a monthly burn rate of about $180,000. These figures describe the company's reported position at that time and are not evidence of revenue or profitability. Beme's initial identity was closely connected to creator-led technology and online video. The company sought to build a product and culture around authenticity, immediacy, and a younger internet audience. It also recruited production talent as it developed beyond the original application; Jake Roper, known for hosting Vsauce3, joined as head of production. The company subsequently became the subject of acquisition interest from CNN, which announced on November 28, 2016 that it would acquire Beme for a reported $25 million. CNN said it intended to invest in the team and develop a new brand aimed at younger audiences, rather than simply operate Beme as a conventional standalone social application. Following the acquisition announcement, Beme told users that the original application would be discontinued on January 31, 2017. CNN planned to use members of the Beme team in a separate digital-media venture, with the team retaining substantial creative control. In January 2018, Neistat announced that he and Hackett were leaving the company and that Beme would be folded into CNN Digital Studios. Neistat continued to receive an executive-producer credit for the associated programming. A Beme News YouTube channel continued publishing content until 2019, despite the shutdown of the original app and the later organizational integration. Beme is therefore best understood as a defunct digital-media and technology brand rather than a consumer-staples or food brand. Its significance rests on its experiment with frictionless, unedited video sharing, its creator-led founding model, and its transition from an independent startup into a CNN digital-content operation.

Beme Inc. was established in 2014 by Casey Neistat and Matt Hackett. Neistat brought a background in filmmaking, short-form video, and YouTube-based publishing, while Hackett provided technical and product expertise. Their initial project was a mobile application intended to make video sharing immediate and less performative. Rather than allowing a user to record, review, edit, and then publish, Beme used the phone's proximity sensor to trigger capture when the device was covered. The resulting two-to-eight-second clip was uploaded and shared with subscribers without a preview option. The iOS version was released on July 17, 2015. This design distinguished Beme from mainstream social-video products that generally encouraged users to curate footage before publication. Beme's proposition was that removing the editing and preview stages could produce more spontaneous communication. The product also benefited from Neistat's existing audience and public profile, which helped generate early awareness around the startup. Beme expanded to Android on May 2, 2016. During that period, Neistat said the company had raised approximately $6 million and had 11 full-time employees. He also described a monthly burn rate of approximately $180,000 and stated that he was not taking a salary. These figures provide a snapshot of the startup's reported resources and operating costs in 2016, not a measure of sales or profitability. Beme also began building a broader production capability and brought in Jake Roper as head of production. CNN announced on November 28, 2016 that it would acquire Beme. The reported transaction value was approximately $25 million. CNN's stated objective was to invest in the team and use its creative and technical capabilities to establish a new media brand for younger audiences. The transaction marked a shift in Beme's trajectory: the company moved from being primarily a consumer mobile application startup toward becoming part of a large news and media organization. On November 29, 2016, Hackett communicated to users that the original Beme app would close on January 31, 2017. CNN indicated that the people behind Beme would continue working on a separate startup-like project, with the team retaining creative control. The original product was therefore not maintained as the central long-term expression of the acquired company. Instead, the acquisition was used as a foundation for experimentation in digital programming and audience development. In January 2018, Neistat announced that he and Hackett were departing and that Beme would be folded into CNN Digital Studios. Neistat retained an executive-producer credit for the resulting show or programming operation. The Beme News YouTube channel continued to publish after the app's closure and remained active until 2019. After that period, Beme no longer operated as an independent active company or standalone consumer application. Its history illustrates the difficulty of translating a distinctive social-product concept into a durable media business, while also showing how established media companies used acquisitions to pursue younger digital audiences.

• 2019

  Beme News activity ends

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  The Beme News YouTube channel ceases activity, completing the end of the brand's publicly documented independent media operation.

• 2018

  Beme joins CNN Digital Studios

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  Beme is folded into CNN Digital Studios after Neistat and Hackett leave the company.

• 2017

  Original app shuts down

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  The Beme mobile application is officially discontinued on January 31.

• 2016

  Android release and reported financing

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  Beme expands to Android. Co-founder Casey Neistat reports approximately $6 million raised and an 11-person full-time team.

• 2016

  CNN announces acquisition

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  CNN announces its acquisition of Beme, reportedly valuing the transaction at approximately $25 million.

• 2015

  Beme app launches on iOS

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  The company's short-form, immediate-sharing video application becomes available on Apple's App Store.

• 2014

  Beme is founded

  [1]Bemeen.wikipedia.org

  Casey Neistat and Matt Hackett establish Beme Inc. as a multimedia and technology company.

Creator-led digital media focused on spontaneous, minimally edited video and programming for younger internet audiences.

• Mobile social-video application · 2015

  Beme

  Beme was a mobile application for recording and sharing very short videos. Users created clips of approximately two to eight seconds by covering the phone's proximity sensor or placing the device against the body. The app uploaded the clip immediately and did not provide a conventional preview or editing step, positioning the product as a tool for spontaneous and unpolished communication. It launched on iOS in 2015 and on Android in 2016 before being discontinued in January 2017.

• Digital video programming

  Beme News

  Beme News was a digital-content initiative associated with the post-acquisition evolution of the company. It distributed video programming through YouTube and continued after the original Beme application had closed. The channel remained active until 2019, while the broader Beme operation had already been integrated into CNN Digital Studios.

• 2018

  Fold Beme into CNN Digital StudiosStrategy

  Background

  Following the departure of Casey Neistat and Matt Hackett, CNN reorganized the Beme operation within its existing digital-studio structure.

  Action taken

  Beme was integrated into CNN Digital Studios.

  Aftermath

  Neistat retained an executive-producer credit for associated programming, while Beme ceased to operate as an independent company.

  Source

• 2016

  Accept CNN acquisitionM&A

  Background

  CNN sought to develop a media brand for younger audiences and announced an agreement to acquire Beme after the startup had built a distinctive mobile-video product and creator-led identity.

  Action taken

  Beme agreed to be acquired by CNN in a transaction reported at approximately $25 million.

  Aftermath

  CNN planned to use the team for a separate digital-media venture. The original app was shut down in January 2017, and Beme was later folded into CNN Digital Studios.

  Reported acquisition value. Approximately US$25 million (November 2016)

  Source

• 2016

  Discontinue the original Beme applicationStrategy

  Background

  After the CNN acquisition announcement, the company and CNN intended to redirect the team toward a new digital-media project rather than continue the original application as a standalone service.

  Action taken

  Beme announced that the app would be shut down on January 31, 2017.

  Aftermath

  The Beme brand continued through digital programming and the Beme News channel, but the original consumer application was no longer available.

  Source

1. 1Bemeen.wikipedia.org