The name

What is Hapnetic?

Hapnetic, the missing force of nature.

Hapnetic starts with haptic, the sense of touch, and blends it with kinetic, the energy of motion. Synaptic and synthetic share the ‑tic ending of kinetic and Hapnetic itself, and tech rounds out the five. Each stands for something we care about. At the center sits app, the bridge that brings them together.

  • Haptic
  • Kinetic
  • Synaptic
  • Synthetic
  • Tech
  • App
Five connected circles in a pentagon. At the top, a finger touching a holographic interface (touch). Going clockwise: a neuron (mind), a sprinter (motion), a hammer, saw and screwdriver (making), and a circuit chip (technology).

Five words, plus one.

HapticTouch · Where the name starts

Touch is the fastest feedback loop.

Haptic leads the name: haptics and proprioception tap into muscle memory, so you perform faster and at a higher skill level, which every kind of expertise needs. The iPhone made touch delightful and easy for beginners; mastery needs expert-level feedback. Touch reaches the base of the brain: in Chinese sticky-hands drills, you react to your partner’s feel faster than you could ever analyze what you see. Practice a piece on the piano, sleep on it, and the next day your brain has rewired its synapses to play it faster and more efficiently, like a custom ASIC versus software.

KineticMotion

Motion is the best medicine.

Sport, exercise, movement. Motion is lotion for your joints, and you need it to improve and stay healthy. In software, motion is a visual cue: animation brings delight, guides you through complex transitions so you never get lost, and signals that something is happening or changing. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a moving picture is worth a thousand words per frame.

SynapticMind

Grow the mind. Strengthen the connections.

Synaptic is about growing and strengthening your mind, neuron by neuron. It also stands for AI and models, built on simulated neurons, and for graphs, one of the best ways to visualize networks and relationships. Connections are key to understanding anything, and to life itself.

SyntheticMaking

Make things people love.

We’re makers. Building things people love is the best way to leave a mark on the world, make it better and get more done. It’s a noble pastime, it’s fun, and it’s worth celebrating. We want to make apps people love that boost productivity and solve real problems, and apps that help other people make things too.

TechTechnology

The latest tech, not old and stodgy.

High-caliber technology and data analytics, used to make things better. This one is personal: we’ve worked in high tech for a long time, and sports apps are often 10 to 20 years behind the curve. We want the latest and greatest technology working for you, improving your experience, your training, your mind and your productivity.

AppThe center

Apps hold it all together.

App sits at the center because apps are the bridge that holds the other five together. An app turns what could be a conversation into an experience of sound, visuals and touch: pictures, animation, transitions and, above all, progressive disclosure. You see something, you touch it, it reveals more, and your touch steers where you go next, like a fighter pilot who doesn’t know which way to turn until he sees what’s over the mountain.

Some say voice and chat will make apps go away. We strongly disagree. A world where the only way to use a computer is talking to a chatbot isn’t one we want. Devices can offer far richer, more dynamic, fun and engaging experiences, and apps are how you build, curate and iterate toward the perfect one. Apps combine all five.

Why a pentagon?

Five circles, five sides. The lines that connect them are also a nod to home: we’re based in Arlington, Virginia, home of the Pentagon.

See what we’re building.

See the apps