BirdyChat

BirdyChat is an instant messaging service designed for professional communication and operated within the European Economic Area (EEA). The company is headquartered in Latvia. It was founded by Rolands Mesters (formerly of GoCardless) and Martins Spilners (formerly of FullContact and saas.group), and it initially launched under the name Fyello before being renamed BirdyChat. The service is backed by venture capital investors and is marketed as proudly built in Europe. BirdyChat's core proposition is to give work conversations a dedicated home. Rather than relying on personal chat apps or email, it lets users reach one another through business email addresses instead of phone numbers, aiming to separate professional communication from private messaging. Its feature set includes direct chats based on email addresses, group spaces for project-based communication across company boundaries, thread management with the ability to archive completed threads, inbox organization with "done" markers and a snooze function, and end-to-end encryption for all messages. The service is available on iOS, Android, and Windows. In November 2025, Meta announced that BirdyChat and Haiket would be the first third-party services to establish interoperability with WhatsApp in the EU, the result of more than three years of collaboration with European messaging services and the European Commission. The technical implementation relies on WhatsApp's official Third-Party Chats interface developed under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and all messages exchanged through it are end-to-end encrypted. For WhatsApp users in the EEA, the feature is opt-in. In January 2026, BirdyChat announced that it had become the first messenger in Europe to establish the technical connection to WhatsApp. At the same time, BirdyChat's user numbers remain modest: fewer than 500 downloads were recorded on the Google Play Store, with similarly low traction on the Apple App Store. In December 2025, BirdyChat received the title "Newcomer of the Year" at the Latvian Startup of the Year awards, and founder Mesters was named "Founder of the Year." The service has since been rebranded as Balsio, with the official site describing it as "the chat app for work conversations" for modern teams and professionals, built and hosted in Europe, and available on Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Android as well as in the browser.

BirdyChat was founded by Rolands Mesters (formerly of GoCardless) and Martins Spilners (formerly of FullContact and saas.group). The company initially launched under the name Fyello before being renamed BirdyChat. It is headquartered in Latvia and operates within the European Economic Area, positioning itself as a European alternative for professional messaging. The service was built around the idea that some of the most important work conversations happen between companies, not inside them, and that these conversations lack a proper home—often ending up on personal chat apps or buried in email. BirdyChat aimed to provide a dedicated space for such exchanges, using business email addresses rather than phone numbers as the basis for contact. In November 2025, Meta announced that BirdyChat and Haiket would be the first third-party services to establish interoperability with WhatsApp in the EU. This was described as the result of more than three years of collaboration with European messaging services and the European Commission. The technical implementation is based on WhatsApp's official Third-Party Chats interface, developed under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and all messages exchanged through it are end-to-end encrypted. For WhatsApp users in the EEA, the feature is opt-in, and messages can be displayed in a separate folder or a shared inbox, with the external origin clearly marked. The feature can be disabled at any time. In December 2025, BirdyChat received the title "Newcomer of the Year" at the Latvian Startup of the Year awards, and founder Mesters was named "Founder of the Year." In January 2026, BirdyChat announced that it had become the first messenger in Europe to establish the technical connection to WhatsApp. At that time, user numbers remained modest: fewer than 500 downloads were recorded on the Google Play Store, with similarly low traction on the Apple App Store. Subsequently, the service was rebranded as Balsio. The official website now presents Balsio as "the chat app for work conversations" for modern teams and professionals, built and hosted in Europe, and available on Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Android as well as in the browser. The site also lists a "Coming Soon" feature for messaging WhatsApp contacts directly from Balsio, keeping work conversations separate from personal chats, with end-to-end encryption, available across the European Economic Area. The company behind the service is identified as Fyello Productivity SIA.

• Meta announces BirdyChat and Haiket as first third-party services to interoperate with WhatsApp in the EU.

• BirdyChat named 'Newcomer of the Year' at Latvian Startup of the Year awards; founder Mesters named 'Founder of the Year'.

• BirdyChat announces it is the first messenger in Europe to establish technical connection to WhatsApp.

• BirdyChat rebrands as Balsio.

A European, work-focused messenger that separates professional and personal communication, using business email addresses instead of phone numbers, and pioneering DMA-mandated interoperability with WhatsApp.

• BirdyChat (now Balsio) work chat app

  Instant messaging service for professional communication, available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and browser.

• WhatsApp interoperability

  Feature allowing one-to-one chats with WhatsApp users in the EEA, end-to-end encrypted, based on WhatsApp's Third-Party Chats interface.

• Unconfirmed

  Balsio launches Workspaces team communication feature[5]Balsio 推出 Workspaces 团队沟通功能baltictimes.com

  Balsio, the European work messaging app formerly known as BirdyChat, launched Workspaces, a feature that lets small teams organise internal conversations in shared, Slack-style chats while staying connected with external contacts, including via WhatsApp interoperability for users in the EEA.

• Unconfirmed

  Balsio becomes available as a Windows desktop app[5]Balsio 推出 Workspaces 团队沟通功能baltictimes.com

  Alongside the Workspaces launch, Balsio is now available as a Windows desktop app, adding to its existing mobile, Mac and web availability.

1. 1Balsio - Work Chat & Productivitybalsio.com
2. 2Balsio – About usbalsio.com
3. 3BirdyChat - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4BirdyChat - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
5. 5Balsio 推出 Workspaces 团队沟通功能baltictimes.com