Series Rush Uses AI Robot ‘Yuri’ to Shake Up College Networking

Series, a fast-growing  AI social network integrated within iMessage, is taking its unconventional approach to student networking on the road.

The startup has just launched its new ‘Series Rush’ campaign, headlined by an AI robot named Yuri. The company is reimagining how elite college communities connect, compete, and discover opportunities.

Co-founded by Yale senior students Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow, Series uses AI “Friends” within iMessage to make double opt-in introductions based on shared goals and mutual value. In just a few months, students at over 650 schools have exchanged more than 700,000 messages through the platform. Johnson predicts Series will approach one million users by the end of 2025.

Democratizing Exclusive Experiences

Series Rush is designed to challenge the exclusivity of traditional campus networks. While sororities have historically dominated certain social spaces, Johnson and Hargrow want to open up elite experiences, like coveted spring-break trips to Europe, to entire student bodies. Through Series Rush, whole campuses can compete for rewards, and the winning school will appear in Season 2 of the startup’s reality TV show.

Series is not targeting sororities so much as we’re showcasing what representation looks like, Johnson told UrbanGeekz. Moreover, It’s about making the kinds of networks and opportunities that have traditionally been out of reach available to a much broader range of students.

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Meet Yuri, Series’ AI “CMO”

Central to the campaign is Yuri, an AI-powered robot who doubles as Series’ Chief Marketing Officer. Yuri travels to campuses, stands alongside eye-catching “alternative composites”, framed portraits mimicking traditional sorority composites, and personally introduces students to the Series platform. By giving Yuri autonomy to run marketing operations, the founders hope to demonstrate how deeply AI is woven into Series’ product-led growth.

Series Rush Harvard Composite

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A Reality Show Meets a Social Network

Series first captured national attention with a Hamptons-based reality show in which 12 interns competed for a $100,000 prize. After considering a traditional network deal, the company pivoted to Twitch for faster, more flexible distribution. The first two episodes are already available to stream, with the rest of the season releasing weekly.

Streaming lets series engage with the audience directly, without gatekeepers, Johnson noted. It’s an extension of Series’ mission to democratize access.

Rethinking Social Networking for Gen Z

Unlike traditional social platforms that thrive on rankings, comparisons, and endless scrolling, Series emphasizes warm introductions and private group chats. The goal is to give students “more peace of mind” and fewer vanity metrics while still connecting them to the right people at the right time, whether they’re building a startup or looking for a roommate in New York City.

Series offers something radical in its simplicity and connections measured not by vanity, but by value.

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What’s Next

With its AI-driven marketing push, a growing user base, and a Twitch-streamed reality show, Series is betting that the next big social network won’t look like an app at all. Instead, it will live where students already spend their time, in their text messages, and will be guided by AI that feels more like a friend than a feed.

For more information on Series, visit https://series.so.