Screenleap
YC W12San Francisco, US · Founded 2011 · 4 employees · 3 known investors
Screenleap provides web-based screen sharing and live communication tools that enable real-time interaction between users without requiring software downloads. The platform serves businesses and website operators seeking to support live customer interactions through screen sharing, video, audio, and chat.
Also known as ScreenLeap · Screenleap, Inc.
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W12)
Screenleap was founded in 2011 by Tuyen Truong and Lawrence Gentilello.
Investors · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Screenleap, Inc. develops browser-based screen sharing and live interaction software. A presenter can share a desktop screen or camera from Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari without installing software, while viewers open a link and watch from any device with a web browser, including PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones, with no download required. Optional native applications extend the service: Windows and Mac desktop apps and an installable add-on that enables extra capabilities such as rectangle mode and sharing control with viewers, plus iOS and Android apps for sharing a screen or camera from mobile devices.
Beyond screen sharing, the product set includes video conferencing, two-way audio conferencing via the computer's microphone and speakers, chat, shared control of the presenter's computer, cloud recording with automatic upload, and viewer registration that captures attendee information for export to CRM systems. A website integration feature lets site operators add screen sharing, video and audio conferencing to their own web pages without coding. The company also exposes an API so developers can embed screen sharing in their applications; per Y Combinator, the service has been integrated into products ranging from audio conferencing services to e-learning platforms, sales tools and support applications.
Founding story
Screenleap was founded in 2011 and had four co-founders: Tuyen Truong, Lawrence Gentilello, Steven Liu and Allison Huynh. Truong and Gentilello had earlier, in 1999, created Steamtunnels at Stanford, an online version of the university's printed facebook; Stanford pushed for the site's shutdown roughly a week after its beta release, citing potential Honor Code violations and removing the two from academic advising positions.
Business model
Screenleap sells a hosted screen sharing and live interaction service with self-serve pricing and sign-up on its website, plus a contact-sales path, and offers an API and a website integration feature for embedding the service into third-party applications and websites. At launch in 2012 the service was free, with the company stating it planned a freemium model in which certain additional features would be paid.
Freemium: free screen sharing with paid tiers for additional features, per the company's stated plan at launch; the current site lists pricing and sign-up alongside a contact-sales option.
Traction
At the September 2012 Founders Den demo day the company reported it had powered nearly 100,000 screen shares with usage growing 19 percent week over week. Its current website displays a 4.5 out of 5 rating based on 445 reviews. Y Combinator lists the company as active with a team size of 4.
Latest developments
The company's website, copyright-dated 2025, highlights a new website integration feature that lets customers add screen sharing, video conferencing and audio conferencing to their sites without coding, along with cloud recording and viewer registration with CRM export. Y Combinator's company page lists Screenleap's status as active with a team size of 4.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Screenleap entered a market dominated by established screen sharing platforms such as WebEx, positioning against competitors including GoInstant, join.me (LogMeIn) and Google+ Hangouts by removing the viewer-side installation requirement. Y Combinator lists it under productivity and collaboration; the company described its mission as doing for screen sharing what Dropbox did for file sharing.
Installation-free viewing on any browser-equipped device, enabled by a JavaScript/HTML viewer instead of Flash, and one-click link-based access for viewers; the platform bundles screen sharing with video, audio, chat, remote pointing/control, cloud recording and viewer registration, and can be embedded in third-party websites without coding.
Technology
The viewer is implemented in JavaScript and HTML rather than Flash, which the co-founder said in 2012 made Screenleap the only service whose broadcasts could be viewed in essentially any browser, including on smartphones, without extra software. At launch the sharing side required downloading and running a Java applet; the current product supports installation-free sharing from modern desktop browsers, with optional Windows, Mac, iOS and Android apps and a desktop add-on for advanced features.
Go-to-market
Self-serve web sign-up from screenleap.com combined with a developer API and a no-code website integration for embedding live interaction into customer websites; early visibility came from Y Combinator's Winter 2012 batch, TechCrunch coverage, and a Founders Den demo day presentation in September 2012.
Businesses and website operators supporting live customer interactions, developers embedding screen sharing via API, and, as stated at launch, consumers as an untapped market alongside the traditional business user base for screen sharing software.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco; the service is delivered over the web and via desktop and mobile applications.
History
Founded in 2011, Screenleap went through Y Combinator's Winter 2012 batch and was covered by TechCrunch in February 2012, when the product offered link-based viewing with a Java applet for sharers and no audio, and user accounts and permissions were still planned. In September 2012 the company presented at Founders Den's third demo day, reporting cumulative usage figures and launching an API for third-party integration. The product has since expanded to installation-free desktop browser sharing, native Windows, Mac, iOS and Android apps, video and audio conferencing, chat, cloud recording, viewer registration and a no-code website integration feature. Co-founder Lawrence Gentilello is listed by Y Combinator as a former founder and board director of Screenleap and is now CEO and founder of Optery.
Risks & controversies
Sources note early product limitations: the 2012 TechCrunch review described the site as a minimal viable product with a generic design, no audio, no restricted-access screen shares, and a Java applet download requirement on the sharing side that it called a significant hurdle. The company competes with substantially larger incumbents in screen sharing and conferencing. No disclosed funding amounts appear in the sources.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 3
by search overlap
Companies competing with Screenleap for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsScreenleap's site promotes a website integration feature that lets site operators add screen sharing, video conferencing and audio conferencing without coding.
Presenting at Founders Den's third demo day in San Francisco, Screenleap announced an API allowing other products to incorporate its screen sharing.
Screenleap took part in Y Combinator's Winter 2012 batch, launching publicly during that cohort.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Screenleapscreenleap.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Screenleap do?
- Y Combinator-backed Screenleap offers browser-based screen sharing with installation-free viewing on any device.
- Who founded Screenleap?
- Screenleap was founded by Tuyen Truong, Lawrence Gentilello in 2011.
- Who are Screenleap's investors?
- Screenleap's investors include Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel.
- Where is Screenleap headquartered?
- Screenleap is headquartered in San Francisco, US.