2025 letter: The future of @matter There are years that ask questions, and years that answer. For us, last year was both. Rob and I founded Matter together in 2020. In 2022, we became fathers, only three weeks apart. Then, last year, we were both diagnosed with cancer. I had radiation and two major surgeries. Rob had his lung removed. It was a surreal time. Yet the world doesn’t stop for cancer. While we battled, Matter faced its own adversity. We’d begun the year confidently, placing a big bet on paid growth. But by summer, it was clear the strategy wasn't working. Still unable to walk, I made the painful decision to let go of half our team. Rob and I had to face the truth: Matter is a great product—3x App of the Day, with many thousands of passionate users—but it isn’t the next Duolingo. Its destiny is one of slow, steady growth and enthusiast appeal. And that’s okay. Accepting this opened space for reflection, while confronting the prospect of death sharpened our conviction about how we want to spend our days. At its best, working on Matter has been the most energizing of our careers—impactful, creative, and fun. We asked ourselves: How do we amplify that? The answer, we realized, had two parts. The first is our team. In addition to Rob and me, that team includes two exceptional individuals, @tianskylan and @HunterClarke . Sky and Hunter joined us over three years ago, each bringing more than 15 years of technical expertise, Sky in iOS development, Hunter as a full-stack engineer. Beyond their technical abilities, they possess rare product instincts, taste, integrity, and drive. In short, founder energy. Today, we’re re-founding the company, formally making Sky and Hunter cofounders alongside Rob and me. This decision reflects our desire to work together for a very long time. Here, I want to recognize one other person who has been an important part of our journey: @mgsiegler . More than just our lead investor, MG has been a steady source of support, guidance, and friendship, especially during our hard times. Lots of investors claim to be "founder friendly." MG lives it. This support has always given us the confidence to follow our instincts, which brings me to the second part of our “answer.” We’re building more products. Our team’s competitive edge is developing consumer iOS apps that blend design and technology to create great user experiences. That’s what we love to do and what we do best. Matter is a mature product that does its job well. We don’t want to suffocate it with features. It should be nurtured. It should be held to a high standard. Given this natural pace of development, we have the ability to expand our vision. We want to create a family of apps that help people live happier, healthier, more productive lives. Just like Matter. While there are trade-offs to building more apps, we believe they’re positive ones. The pooled resources, creative momentum, and insights we gain will benefit all our apps in a virtuous cycle. In business, as in life, we observe that the returns to playing the long game are very great indeed. Longevity comes naturally when you’re playing a game you don’t want to end. That’s what these changes are all about. We’re healthy now, but last year confronted us with existential questions. We have our answer. We choose to play.