Google Veteran David Petrou Raises $8M for Continua to Bring AI Agents to Group Chats

In early 2023, David Petrou, a distinguished engineer and founding member of both Google Goggles and Google Glass, left Google after more than 17 years to launch his own startup. “I was seeing how fast technology was changing, and I felt there are certain ideas that are best explored in the context of a startup,” Petrou told TechCrunch. His vision led to the creation of Continua, a consumer-focused company that uses AI agents to enhance collaboration and interaction within group chats on platforms like SMS, iMessage, and Discord. “The simple way to think about it is that we’re bringing the power of large language models (LLMs) to group chats,” Petrou explained. On Tuesday, Continua announced it raised an $8 million seed round led by GV, with participation from Bessemer Ventures Partners and various angel investors.

Solving Group Chat Challenges with AI

Petrou observed that people often interact with AI tools like ChatGPT separately and then manually share insights in group conversations. Continua aims to streamline this by embedding AI agents directly into group chats. “If you and I are planning a trip, deciding what to have for dinner, or choosing a movie, these can all be facilitated by an LLM participating in the group chat with us,” Petrou said. Continua’s AI agents reduce group chat chaos by joining conversations and providing helpful information only when necessary. They can automatically set reminders, launch polls, add calendar invitations, or generate Google documents with checklists and to-do lists. If a user forgets details such as meeting times or locations, they can privately message Continua to retrieve the information.

Technical Complexity Behind Group Chat AI

While the concept may seem straightforward, Petrou emphasized the technical challenges of having LLMs participate naturally in multi-human conversations. Most AI models are designed for one-on-one interactions, so Continua had to fine-tune LLMs to understand group dynamics. “You want the agent to have social intelligence,” Petrou said. “We had to ‘break the LLM’s brain’ to integrate the AI naturally into conversations.” Users can control the AI’s participation by invoking it when needed or telling it to "hang back" if it’s too active. Getting started with Continua is simple: users add its phone number to a group SMS or its username to a Discord chat.

Market Position and Future Potential

Though companies like Meta and startups such as Hey Umai also offer AI agents for conversations, Petrou believes Continua is uniquely suited for group interactions. Erik Nordlander, general partner at GV, said his firm invested in Petrou even before Continua’s group chat AI concept fully formed. “David is a really brilliant engineer, someone who’s been working with AI since before it was the hot thing.” Nordlander highlighted several potential revenue streams, including event planning and trip booking assistance, which could become paid services.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Continua's AI Agents and Group Chats

Q: What problem does Continua aim to solve? A: Continua aims to solve the challenge of fragmented information and reduced collaboration in group chats by integrating AI agents that can actively participate and assist in conversations. Q: How does Continua's AI work within group chats? A: Continua's AI agents leverage large language models (LLMs) to understand group conversations, provide relevant information, and perform actions like setting reminders, creating polls, or generating documents. Q: What kind of tasks can Continua's AI agents perform in a group chat? A: They can assist with planning trips, deciding on activities, setting reminders, launching polls, adding calendar invitations, and creating to-do lists. They can also retrieve information privately for users. Q: What were the technical challenges in developing Continua's AI agents? A: The primary technical challenge was fine-tuning LLMs to participate naturally in multi-human conversations, requiring the AI to understand group dynamics and possess "social intelligence." Q: How can users control the AI's participation in a chat? A: Users can control the AI by invoking it when needed or instructing it to "hang back" if it becomes too active. Q: How does one get started with Continua? A: Users can add Continua's phone number to a group SMS chat or its username to a Discord chat. Q: How does Continua differentiate itself from other AI agents in the market? A: Continua believes it is uniquely suited for group interactions, setting it apart from other AI conversation tools.

Crypto Market AI's Take

The development of AI agents that can seamlessly integrate into everyday communication platforms like group chats marks a significant step in the evolution of artificial intelligence. This innovation, as spearheaded by Continua and its founder David Petrou, reflects a broader trend in the AI landscape where specialized agents are being developed to enhance productivity and collaboration across various domains. Our own focus at Crypto Market AI is on leveraging AI for market intelligence and trading, providing sophisticated tools that mirror this push towards intelligent automation. Just as Continua aims to streamline communication, our AI-powered solutions aim to optimize trading strategies and provide actionable market insights. The ability for AI to understand nuanced group dynamics, as Continua is developing, is a testament to the advancements in LLMs, and we foresee similar advancements impacting areas like AI crypto trading and personalized financial advice. Understanding how AI can assist in complex group decision-making, as demonstrated by Continua, also highlights the potential for AI in managing and analyzing intricate financial markets.

Google vet raises M for Continua to bring AI agents to group chats