Developed with just a thousand yuan in costs, by three post-95s developers, and completed within a one-month development cycle, an app featuring a simple "daily check-in to notify emergency contacts" function has skyrocketed to the top of the paid charts on the Apple App Store.
This app, originally named "死了么" (Sǐle me), has recently created a massive stir in the mobile internet circle.
According to public statements from the company founder, its download volume has surged by 800 times, its valuation has soared to nearly 100 million yuan, and its commercial value is steadily increasing.
The "死了么" APP has been renamed.
On January 13th, the "死了么" APP announced that, following careful consideration by the team, it will officially adopt the global brand name "Demumu" in the upcoming new version.
Regarding the reason for the name change, founder Mr. Guo stated that it was partly due to external public opinion pressure and partly to lay the foundation for the product's future global expansion.
Explaining the meaning of the new name, Mr. Guo said the first two letters "De" are taken from the English word "Death," closely tying to the core concept of mortality. The latter part, "mumu," is intended to create a sense of familiarity and a cute, "Q-style" charm.
Founder responds to plagiarism allegations. The创意 originated from netizens; it doesn't belong to any single individual.
As the app gained popularity, numerous质疑声 emerged online. On January 12th, short video creator "摆货小天才" (Goods Display Prodigy) released a video claiming that the app's concept and logo design were highly similar to a conceptual video they published in 2023.
In the video, the博主 claimed that on October 8th, 2023, their team released a video related to a "死了么" APP, which included complete conceptual designs for the logo and functional workflow. The video reportedly trended on major platforms the night it was posted but was removed across the entire internet within 48 hours due to "irresistible factors."
The博主 also mentioned that the currently popular "死了么" APP logo has one fewer dot than their original design, and some proposed functions have not been fully implemented. They jokingly suggested they might launch a "抄了么" (Copied It?) APP专门 to "copy" netizens' ideas and help bring them to life.
In response to the online allegations from "摆货小天才" implying plagiarism of the concept, Mr. Guo countered that the创意 originated from discussions among netizens and does not belong to any single person. He stated that the other party merely turned comments from netizens into a video skit without actually developing a product.
User growth reaches 800 times. Company valuation soars to nearly 100 million yuan.
According to the official Weibo account of "死了么," the application has now expanded to over 40 countries globally. In the Chinese market, it consistently holds the top position in the paid charts. It has also climbed to second place in the charts of countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Belgium.
Mr. Guo revealed that following coverage by international media outlets like the BBC, the app's performance in overseas markets has been particularly notable. The current daily new user growth has increased to "500 to 800 times" the initial volume. Outside of China, the United States has become the largest overseas user base.
However, the team is still不便透露 specific user numbers.
In a previous discussion, Mr. Guo mentioned that the team planned to raise 1 million yuan by offering a 10% equity stake, which implied a company valuation of 10 million yuan at that time. After in-depth talks with multiple potential investors, the company's valuation skyrocketed to nearly 100 million yuan within just two days, a 100-fold increase. The team still plans to offer 10% equity, but the corresponding fundraising target has now risen to the tens of millions of yuan level.
It is understood that specific details regarding the financing are still being negotiated, and this funding round is expected to be formally completed within the week.
Sleeping only 2 hours a day. Has contacted sixty to seventy investment institutions.
Regarding his recent work schedule, Mr. Guo坦言 that in the past 24 hours, he had only rested for two hours, dedicating almost all his remaining time to various matters concerning the App.
Notably, when responding to the interview request, it was already 4 a.m. Concerned about his sleeping child at home, he requested to postpone the interview. The conversation was completed the following day when contact was re-established.
Mr. Guo disclosed that over the past few days, the team has engaged in深度接触 with sixty to seventy investment institutions. Currently, the project is at a critical stage of development.
When asked if this project has changed the trajectory of his life, he沉思片刻后 replied, "Saying it has changed my life might be an overstatement, but seeing my product gain recognition and achieve some success has indeed brought me great satisfaction."
Currently, Mr. Guo is based in Hangzhou, while the three core team members are located in different cities, maintaining a remote collaboration model. Regarding future plans for offline business operations, he cautiously stated, "This possibility is also under our consideration and requires a comprehensive assessment of the market environment and future team scale."
Related Reading The code to virality: The "life-sustaining necessity" for 125 million people living alone.
Without massive marketing campaigns, its growth relied solely on organic spread. The explosive popularity of this app, with its simple interface featuring just a check-in button, perhaps fundamentally stems from addressing a genuine social pain point.
Upon its initial launch, the "死了么" App sparked discussions on social platforms due to its provocative name. Data from the Seventh National Population Census shows that single-person households in China exceed 125 million, accounting for 25% of all households. Urbanization has gradually weakened traditional models of neighborhood watch and mutual aid among relatives and friends, making "sudden accidents going unnoticed" a common fear among those living alone.
Analyzing the app's virality, internet industry analyst Zhang Shule suggested that for this vast population living alone, especially young people in first- and second-tier cities with intense work schedules and infrequent contact with family and friends, the real unease often stems not from the accident itself, but from the possibility of it going unnoticed afterwards.
The "死了么" App breaks communication barriers with its darkly humorous name, then offers a最低成本安全感解决方案 through the极简 logic of "daily check-in, send email if contact is lost."
Chen Litong, an analyst at the E-commerce Research Center of 100ec.cn, noted that the core reason lies in its precise targeting of deep-seated anxieties in contemporary society. By using a name like "死了么" that directly confronts the taboo of death, it prioritizes emotional value over practical functionality, thereby triggering spontaneous user dissemination.
However, behind the virality, product shortcomings have been criticized. It currently only supports email notifications, and the open rate for emails in China is far lower than for SMS, rendering them近乎无效 in emergencies. The manual check-in design is prone to false alarms. The lack of core functions like a one-click help button makes it more akin to a "psychological comfort tool" than a genuine "safety security tool."
Despite this, its lightweight design remains key to its rapid breakout. The trajectory of the "死了么" App's virality is not unfamiliar in the mobile internet industry. Three post-95s developers collaborating remotely identified a core emotional pain point and achieved low-cost, rapid deployment. This "single-point breakthrough" logic is almost identical to the viral paths of apps like "醒图" (Xing Tu), which focused on photo retouching, and "羊了个羊" (Sheep A Sheep), which主打冲关挑战. The common thread: avoid complex features and solve one core pain point exceptionally well.
However, the outcomes for these apps after their viral success have varied greatly.
"Sheep A Sheep," as a phenomenon-level mini-game, gained 20 million new users in a single day at its peak through its反差 design of an easy first level and an extremely difficult second level. But due to a lack of continuously iterated core gameplay, user activity plummeted once the novelty wore off, and it has now almost vanished. Its lesson is clear: relying solely on emotionally charged virality without genuine user stickiness ultimately results in a fleeting trend.
"醒图" (Xing Tu) is a典型 example of "lying down to win." By focusing on the core demand for "natural beauty retouching" and forming advantages through algorithm optimization, it was eventually 100% acquired by ByteDance and integrated into its content ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the social app "啫喱" (Zheli), after a meteoric rise, was urgently taken down due to server crashes and privacy controversies and never managed to relaunch. This indicates a lack of risk resilience or a continuously evolving core competitive edge.
Comparing these cases, the strengths and weaknesses of the "死了么" App are equally pronounced. Its advantage lies in切入 the长期存在的垂直赛道 of "safety for people living alone," with an 8-yuan付费模式 enabling quick profitability. However, the隐患 are more突出: the technical barrier is almost zero, and the core functionality can be replicated with basic programming skills. The key challenge post-virality is how to sustainably manage and retain the influx of traffic.
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