Intently, an enterprise AI startup, has introduced a new product called Founder AI that aims to assist startup founders in identifying relevant investors and securing warm introductions within their existing networks. The tool leverages artificial intelligence to analyze a founder’s Gmail account and LinkedIn connections, streamlining the fundraising process by automating one of its most time-consuming and opaque aspects.
To support the development and launch of Founder AI, Intently has successfully raised $3 million in seed funding from reputable investors such as Y Combinator, Rebel Fund, Pioneer Fund, Liquid2, Altair Capital, and Davidovs VC. The company’s co-founder, Mika Melchanka, emphasized the importance of building a meaningful network based on their own entrepreneurial experiences.
Founder AI is not just another customer relationship management (CRM) or outreach tool; instead, it offers a more targeted solution. Melchanka explained that the purpose of Founder AI is to help founders leverage their existing networks for specific use cases that arise during the fundraising process. The platform initially focuses on fundraising but plans to expand to other common networking use cases for founders, such as business development and hiring.
The tool combines two key AI technologies: large language models (LLMs) and graph neural networks (GNN). LLMs possess vast amounts of unstructured data from various sources such as social media, news articles, and blogs. However, they lack the ability to interact between different pieces of information. This is where Intently’s proprietary GNNs come in. GNNs model relationships and interactions in a structured way by leveraging message passing between individuals and relationships in the system.
Intently’s team is well-equipped to tackle networking challenges, with CEO Slava Solonitsyn and co-founder Dmitry Starodubtsev previously co-founding Mighty Buildings, a successful prefab sustainable home construction startup that raised over $100 million. They understand firsthand how critical a founder’s network is and how networking and fundraising can consume a significant amount of time.
While Founder AI initially focuses on fundraising, Intently envisions its platform becoming an essential AI-powered networking agent for professionals in all fields. The team plans to start with a limited release to a select group of founders and gradually expand access to more users. They also prioritize data privacy and security, ensuring that Founder AI is certified by Google and only analyzes email metadata, not the content of messages.
In a world where personal connections often play a crucial role, Intently aims to level the playing field by making the right connections just an AI query away. Founder AI is the first step towards a future where intelligent agents handle the heavy lifting of networking, allowing founders to focus on their core competency – building the next big thing.