Hong Kong-made mobile chat app Maaii wants to become the Skype of Asia

Maaii, a newcomer to the mobile chat market, has quickly won over fans in Southeast Asia thanks to smart marketing

Reading Time:2 minutes

Published: 5:21pm, 21 Oct 2013

The mobile chat market may be a crowded one, but Hong Kong newcomer Maaii has quickly carved a comfortable niche for itself, especially after generating a considerable buzz in Southeast Asia.

Founded in 2011, Maaii’s success, as well as its familiar Skype-like appearance, is no surprise considering that the Kowloon Bay-based company's chief strategy officer is Chris Lewis, former head of Skype Asia.

“Maaii is not really trying to stand as a competitor against major players like Line, Viber or WeChat, which are looking to build themselves into larger social platforms,” Lewis said in interviews with Tech in Asia. “What the company is interested in is being the best voice app possible – as that is the DNA of the company.”

Maaii chief strategy officer Chris Lewis. Photo: RingHK.com

Keeping this sentiment in mind, Maaii forgoes the status updates, games, and other bells and whistles that have been integrated into chat programs like WeChat and Line, and focuses instead on allowing users to make free and low cost phone calls. With video functionality, group chats and instant messaging all touted as key features, Maaii’s closest comparisons are Skype and Viber, but the newcomer has distinguished itself from the pack by implementing additional features in its 2.2 release, which hit the Apple and Google Play stores on 18 October.

These features include sound effects which can be played in chats, short six-second “video caller IDs” which can be used to identify contacts as opposed to a more traditional name and picture, and improved Facebook integration.