Google Veteran Raises $8M to Bring AI Agents to Group Chats
In early 2023, David Petrou, a founding member of Google Goggles and Google Glass, left Google after more than 17 years. “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 new venture, Continua, focuses on using AI agents to enhance collaboration in group chats on SMS, iMessage, and Discord.
“The simple way to think about it is that we’re bringing the power of LLMs to group chats,” he said. On Tuesday, Continua announced an $8 million seed round led by GV, with participation from Bessemer Ventures Partners and angel investors. Petrou observed that people often query ChatGPT or another LLM and then paste the results into group chats. He envisioned a smoother process in which the AI joins the conversation directly to help plan trips, choose movies, or decide dinner menus.
AI That Understands Group Dynamics
Continua claims its agents reduce group chat clutter by offering information only when needed. They can set reminders, launch polls, add calendar events, or create Google documents with checklists. If someone forgets a detail such as a meeting time, they can privately message Continua to retrieve it.
Although it may appear straightforward, integrating LLMs into multi-user chats is complex. Most AI models are designed for one-on-one interactions, so Continua fine-tuned its models to grasp the dynamics of group exchanges. “You want the agent to have social intelligence,” Petrou said. The team adjusted the model so it could blend into conversations naturally, even holding back when unnecessary. Users can summon Continua for help or ask it to “hang back” when it comments too often.
Positioning for Growth
Getting started with Continua is simple: users add its phone number to a group SMS or its username to a Discord chat. While Meta and other startups also offer AI chat agents, Petrou insists that Continua is built specifically for group interaction. GV general partner Erik Nordlander said they backed Petrou before the idea was fully formed. “David is a really brilliant engineer, someone who’s been working with AI since before it was the hot thing.”
Nordlander noted that Continua already helps with event planning and trip booking, services that could become paid features. With several potential paths to profitability and a product aimed at reducing group chat chaos, Continua is positioning itself to stand out in the growing AI assistant market.
