Knowledge@Computing

Sometime between 2019 and 2020, a curious phenomenon began surfacing on Signal, FaceTime, and four other mobile messaging applications: someone could ring a person up and listen in to the audio of their surroundings — all without the receiving party picking up the call.

Roughly a decade ago, there was a big shake-up to the startup world. Entrepreneurs looking to fund their latest business venture no longer had to seek seed capital from traditional sources such as angel investors or wealthy individuals. Instead, a markedly different financing option was now trending: crowdfunding.