Latest news with #YCombinator
TechCrunch
19 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Why a Y Combinator startup tackling AI agents for Windows gave up and pivoted
A startup called that participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch was working on a potential revolutionary idea: AI agentic tech to control a Microsoft Windows desktop. But in May, the founder announced he was abandoning the tech and pivoting his company to something entirely different: Muscle Mem, a cache system for AI agents that allows them to offload repeatable tasks. An early-stage YC company pivoting is nothing out of the ordinary, of course. What's interesting — and what sparked a dynamic conversation on Thursday's Y Combinator podcast — is that Pig was working on computer use, one of the big areas that needs to be solved for agents to be truly useful in the workforce. Another company – and another YC alum – that is tackling that for the browser is called Browser Use. Browser Use surged to popularity when Chinese agentic tool Manus, which relied on it, went viral. Browser Use essentially scans the buttons and elements of a website to turn them into a more digestible, 'text-like' format for agents, helping the AI understand how to navigate and use the website. During the Y Combinator podcast, released Thursday, partner Tom Blomfield likened Pig as the Browser Use for Windows desktops. The podcast featured Amjad Massad, the founder and CEO of popular vibe-coding startup Replit. Massad, Blomfield, and YC partner David Lieb were discussing how long-term computer use of hours, rather than minutes, was still a stumbling block for agents. As the context window for reasoning grows, an agent's accuracy wavers while LLM costs increase. 'The advice I would give founders today is taking either Browser Use or Windows automation with Pig and trying to apply that into enterprise, into a vertical industry,' Blomfield suggested. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Massad agreed, 'The moment that technology works, those two companies are going to do really, really well,' he said. But alas, Pig's founder Erik Dunteman has already given up on the idea. In his post in May he explained that he at first wanted to run a cloud API product (a common way of delivering AI tech). But his customers didn't want that. So he tried selling it as a dev tool. And they didn't want that either. 'What users in the legacy app automation space actually want is to hand me money, and receive an automation,' he said. Essentially, they wanted to hire a consultant to make their desired Windows robotic process automations work for them. But Dunteman didn't want to do one-off projects. He wanted to build development tools. So he abandoned Pig and started working on an AI caching tool. Dunteman declined further comment about his decision to ditch Windows automation, although the website and Github documents remain available. However, Dunteman did tell us his new tool was inspired by the computer use problem. It is chipping away at it from another angle. The idea is to allow the agent to offload repeated tasks to the Muscle Mem service, so the agent can focus on reasoning for new problems and edge cases. 'What we're working on now is directly inspired by and applicable to computer use, just at the developer tooling layer. I remain very optimistic for computer use as 'the last mile',' he told TechCrunch. That's not to say that no one is working on Windows automation. Probably the company farthest along on that is Microsoft itself. For instance, in April Microsoft announced it added computer use tech to Copilot Studio for graphical user interfaces like Windows. That tech was released as a research preview. Plus, earlier this month, Microsoft announced an agentic tool in Windows 11 that helps end users manage settings.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Perplexity AI CEO Aravind Srinivas net worth: Know about the man who took Elon Musk to build 1.5 lakh crore empire
In a major development, Airtel has teamed up with Perplexity AI for the benefit of its 360 million users. The AI-powered search engine company will give all its customers a free one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro. The collaboration means that the users will be able to enjoy all the features and services offered by the company without having to pay anything. Meanwhile, Aravind Srinivas, the co-founder and CEO of the $14 billion search startup, is making headlines as he warned aspiring entrepreneurs at Y Combinator's AI Startup School about big tech giants copying successful ideas. Who is Aravind Srinivas? Aravind Srinivas is an Indian-origin engineer and entrepreneur who is the CEO and co-founder of Perplexity AI, which is an artificial intelligence-powered search engine that he describes as "the fastest way to get answers to any questions. Srinivas did his engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, earning his bachelor's and degrees in electrical engineering. The co-founder of Perplexity opened up on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast and shared his personal stories about his early influences, his career growth in Bengaluru and his way into artificial intelligence. As of March 2025, the IIT Madras graduate and AI visionary company was valued at Rs. 1.5 lakh crore. He created a ground-breaking search engine with the support of leading investors in spite of early disappointments. He even challenged tech billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk and had a thought-provoking conversation with Nikhil Kamath. What exactly is Perplexity AI? Perplexity AI is comparable to Google Gemini and ChatGPT. It is a more sophisticated generative AI tool than standard Google search. This cutting-edge technology provides accurate, thoroughly researched responses to questions with comprehension comparable to that of a human. It provides a summary of the most pertinent facts and correct information about your inquiries rather than just a list of links. A look at Aravind Srinivas' total net worth According to ET Now, in just two years, Perplexity AI's CEO has reached a staggering valuation of $1 billion (~Rs. 8,300 crore). But that's only a part of his expanding business portfolio. His company is believed to generate annual revenue of nearly $50 million, and Aravind has also made a name for himself as a prominent investor, with stakes in firms like Chennai Meenakshi Multispeciality Hospital Ltd. and eMudhra Ltd. When it comes to his personal wealth, estimates place his net worth at around Rs 223.8 crore, which is an impressive milestone for someone who is just 31 years old.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
‘Just ridiculous,' says Google Brain founder on hype about AI taking away all jobs, shares tips how anyone can become powerful
Amid the ongoing buzz around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and its potential to revolutionise—or disrupt—the world, renowned AI expert and Google Brain co-founder Andrew Ng is urging a shift in perspective. Speaking recently at a Y Combinator event, Ng challenged the hype surrounding AGI, arguing that real impact in the AI age will come not from building superintelligent machines but from learning how to use existing AI tools effectively. 'AGI has been overhyped,' Ng said. 'For a long time, there'll be many things humans can do that AI simply can't.' According to Ng, while AGI—a form of artificial intelligence that could match or exceed human cognitive abilities—remains a fascinating concept, it is being blown out of proportion. He believes that the constant speculation around AI overtaking humanity and wiping out jobs is not only unhelpful but also misleading. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category others Product Management Leadership Data Science Design Thinking Cybersecurity PGDM Public Policy MBA MCA Digital Marketing Degree Finance Data Science Technology Artificial Intelligence CXO healthcare Others Operations Management Management Project Management Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details The real power: Knowing how to use AI Rather than fearing a dystopian future ruled by AGI, Ng advises individuals and organizations to focus on practical skills. He emphasizes that the most powerful people in the AI era will be those who can get computers to do exactly what they want, not necessarily those who can build new AI models from scratch. 'People who know how to use AI will be far more powerful than those who don't,' he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 15 Most Beautiful Women in the World Ng encourages people to adopt a hands-on approach—learning to integrate AI into real-world applications to solve problems in sectors like healthcare, education, and logistics. AI vs. AGI: Stop chasing the hype Ng also addressed the narrative being pushed by some tech companies that exaggerates the capabilities of current AI technologies. He criticized claims suggesting that AI is on the verge of rendering all human labour obsolete or that it poses existential risks to humanity. Live Events 'The idea that AI will lead to human extinction or make all jobs disappear is just ridiculous,' Ng said. 'These are hype narratives that help companies raise money or appear more powerful than they actually are.' He warned that such exaggerations only distract from more important, grounded conversations about the responsible and effective use of AI. AI is a tool, not an end Drawing a comparison to electricity, Ng described AI as a neutral technology whose impact depends entirely on how it is used. 'AI is neither safe nor unsafe. It's how you apply it that makes it so,' he said. 'Like electricity, AI can power countless positive applications—but it can also be used in harmful ways if mismanaged.' Ng believes the key lies in responsible innovation, where developers and entrepreneurs focus on building useful, ethical, and scalable AI solutions rather than chasing speculative breakthroughs that may never materialize. Advice to founders and developers For aspiring entrepreneurs and AI developers, Ng had a clear message: focus on the practical. Instead of worrying about hypothetical AGI scenarios, work on solving real problems with existing tools. 'Build things that people actually want,' he urged. 'Stay updated with AI developments, but focus on creating tangible value and using AI responsibly.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CEO of $14 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear' that your competitor will steal your idea
Building a billion-dollar company is hard enough—but keeping others from stealing your big idea and doing it better might be even harder, says Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. As Sam Altman and Mark Cuban predict AI will create a wave of new billionaire (and even trillionaire) founders, Srinivas says that looming threat should serve as motivation, not fear. Being a startup founder today means operating with a constant sense of urgency. The clock is always ticking—investors want returns, rivals are circling, and someone else could be racing to market with your idea. But rather than letting that pressure paralyze him, Aravind Srinivas, the co-founder and CEO of $14 billion search startup Perplexity, uses it as fuel. 'You should assume that if you have a big hit, if your company is something that can make revenue on the scale of hundreds of millions of dollars or potentially billions of dollars, you should always assume that a model company will copy it,' Srinivas recently said at Y Combinator's AI Startup School. 'You've got to live with that fear and you have to embrace it. Realize that your mode comes from moving fast and building your own identity around what you're doing because users at the end care.' For the 31-year-old, embracing that pressure has helped him build out a multi-billion-dollar AI-powered search engine that rivals the innovation of tech giants Google and Microsoft, as well as fellow newcomers OpenAI and Anthropic. Perplexity's success has even caught the eye of Apple, which has reportedly had talks about purchasing Perplexity. Fortune reached out to Perplexity for further comment. 'I don't do anything other than work' For Srinivas, staying ahead of the competition admittedly means frequently sacrificing work–life balance. 'I don't do anything other than working, sadly. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks whenever I can. I spend a lot of time on X (which is both good and bad),' Srinivas said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) earlier this year. While he still makes time to spend time with family on the weekends—and even hit the gym three times a week—he emphasized that persistence matters: 'Work incredibly hard. There is no substitute for it,' he said to the Y Combinator crowd. 'There's real benefit from embracing that fear and sleeping with that fear and waking up every day and feeling excited about what you're doing to build because that's the only thing that'll keep you going.' AI will make it easier than ever to become a billionaire, predicts tech leaders Luckily (or not) for Srinivas, he's about to get more motivation as the competition gets thicker: AI has ushered in an era where building out a business is easier than ever. After all, generative technology can help create business plans in just a matter of seconds. OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman believes this will lead to entrepreneurship growing exponentially. 'In my little group chat with my tech CEO friends, there's this betting pool for the first year that there is a one-person billion-dollar company,' Altman told Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian in a 2024 interview. 'Which would have been unimaginable without AI, and now will happen.' And while that dream of a one-person, billion-dollar company has yet to come to fruition, other tech leaders have conceded it's bound to happen eventually—and have even raised the ceiling. Billionaire Mark Cuban predicts that AI will eventually help crown the world's first trillionaire. 'We haven't seen the best or the craziest of what [AI is] going to be able to do,' Cuban told the High Performance podcast in an episode published late last month. 'And not only do I think it'll create a trillionaire, but it could be just one dude in the basement. That's how crazy it could be.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CEO of $14 billion AI firm Perplexity says the secret to success is ‘sleeping with that fear' that your competitor will steal your idea
Building a billion-dollar company is hard enough—but keeping others from stealing your big idea and doing it better might be even harder, says Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas. As Sam Altman and Mark Cuban predict AI will create a wave of new billionaire (and even trillionaire) founders, Srinivas says that looming threat should serve as motivation, not fear. Being a startup founder today means operating with a constant sense of urgency. The clock is always ticking—investors want returns, rivals are circling, and someone else could be racing to market with your idea. But rather than letting that pressure paralyze him, Aravind Srinivas, the co-founder and CEO of $14 billion search startup Perplexity, uses it as fuel. 'You should assume that if you have a big hit, if your company is something that can make revenue on the scale of hundreds of millions of dollars or potentially billions of dollars, you should always assume that a model company will copy it,' Srinivas recently said at Y Combinator's AI Startup School. 'You've got to live with that fear and you have to embrace it. Realize that your mode comes from moving fast and building your own identity around what you're doing because users at the end care.' For the 31-year-old, embracing that pressure has helped him build out a multi-billion-dollar AI-powered search engine that rivals the innovation of tech giants Google and Microsoft, as well as fellow newcomers OpenAI and Anthropic. Perplexity's success has even caught the eye of Apple, which has reportedly had talks about purchasing Perplexity. Fortune reached out to Perplexity for further comment. 'I don't do anything other than work' For Srinivas, staying ahead of the competition admittedly means frequently sacrificing work–life balance. 'I don't do anything other than working, sadly. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks whenever I can. I spend a lot of time on X (which is both good and bad),' Srinivas said in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) earlier this year. While he still makes time to spend time with family on the weekends—and even hit the gym three times a week—he emphasized that persistence matters: 'Work incredibly hard. There is no substitute for it,' he said to the Y Combinator crowd. 'There's real benefit from embracing that fear and sleeping with that fear and waking up every day and feeling excited about what you're doing to build because that's the only thing that'll keep you going.' AI will make it easier than ever to become a billionaire, predicts tech leaders Luckily (or not) for Srinivas, he's about to get more motivation as the competition gets thicker: AI has ushered in an era where building out a business is easier than ever. After all, generative technology can help create business plans in just a matter of seconds. OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman believes this will lead to entrepreneurship growing exponentially. 'In my little group chat with my tech CEO friends, there's this betting pool for the first year that there is a one-person billion-dollar company,' Altman told Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian in a 2024 interview. 'Which would have been unimaginable without AI, and now will happen.' And while that dream of a one-person, billion-dollar company has yet to come to fruition, other tech leaders have conceded it's bound to happen eventually—and have even raised the ceiling. Billionaire Mark Cuban predicts that AI will eventually help crown the world's first trillionaire. 'We haven't seen the best or the craziest of what [AI is] going to be able to do,' Cuban told the High Performance podcast in an episode published late last month. 'And not only do I think it'll create a trillionaire, but it could be just one dude in the basement. That's how crazy it could be.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
