Snap Inc., the parent company of popular social platform Snapchat, has acquired Saturn, a calendar and scheduling application widely used by high school and college students across the United States. While the specific financial terms of the acquisition were not publicly disclosed, Snap confirmed that approximately 30 members of Saturn’s full-time workforce will transition to roles within Snap as part of the agreement.
Although Snap has not yet revealed a detailed roadmap for Saturn’s integration, a company representative informed Engadget that the app will continue running as an independent product for the foreseeable future. At the same time, Snap suggested the deal could support efforts to introduce new calendar-oriented functionalities within Snapchat—potentially enhancing its utility in organizing social events, deadlines, and group activities.
On the surface, the acquisition of a scheduling app might appear unexpected for a social media company. However, significant overlap exists between the two user bases. Snap reported that around 80% of high school students in the U.S. are enrolled in schools that use Saturn. The app is currently available in more than 17,000 high schools, according to its App Store listing. Meanwhile, surveys from Pew Research show that more than half of American teenagers regularly use Snapchat, suggesting clear synergies in audience and engagement strategy.
What sets Saturn apart from traditional digital calendars is its deeply social and youth-oriented design. The app incorporates a dynamic, visually engaging interface reminiscent of Snapchat, enabling teens to seamlessly share their class schedules, coordinate after-school activities, and compare availability with friends. It also offers specialized tools tailored to high school life, such as support for block scheduling, rotating class calendars, and extracurricular tracking. While Saturn includes features aimed at college students, it has so far seen stronger adoption among the high school demographic.
Saturn was founded by Dylan Diamond, who serves as CEO, and Max Baron, its COO. The startup had attracted investments from several notable figures in the tech industry prior to the acquisition, including Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce; Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber; and Bezos Expeditions, the venture fund of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A Forbes article from 2021 indicated that Saturn had raised approximately $44 million in funding.
In a related executive update, Jim Lanzone, CEO of Yahoo (which owns Engadget), joined Snap’s board of directors on September 12, 2024. Engadget maintains full editorial independence in its coverage of Snap and other tech companies, with no influence from external management or corporate relationships.
