One-third of the founding team is of Chinese descent.
🚀 A Record-Breaking Seed Round for an AI-Powered Future
Just three months after its founding, U.S.-based AI startup Humans& has secured a staggering $480 million (approximately ¥3.34 billion) in seed funding, catapulting it into the unicorn club with a valuation of $4.48 billion (¥31.19 billion).
This massive round was co-led by SV Angel and Georges Harik, Google’s seventh employee and co-founder of Humans&, with participation from heavyweight investors including:
- NVIDIA
- Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
- Google Ventures (GV)
- Emerson Collective, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs
The investment underscores growing confidence in next-generation AI platforms that prioritize human collaboration over automation.
🌍 Diverse & Elite Founding Team
Humans& boasts a world-class founding team of 18 members — six of whom are of Chinese descent, making up one-third of the core group. The team draws talent from top institutions and AI labs such as:
- xAI
- Anthropic
- Google DeepMind
- OpenAI
- Meta
- Stanford University
- MIT
🔑 Key Founders Include:
- Eric Zelikman – Former xAI researcher, led development of Grok models and creator of the STaR algorithm (Self-Taught Reasoner). He now serves as CEO.
- Andi Peng – Ex-Anthropic researcher involved in Claude 3.5 to 4.5 alignment; focused on ethical AI and mental health safety.
- Georges Harik – Google veteran who helped build the company’s early ad systems.
- Yuchen He – Also a former xAI researcher.
- Noah Goodman – Professor of Psychology, Computer Science, and Linguistics at Stanford; affiliated with Fei-Fei Li’s Human-Centered AI Institute.
▲ Humans& founding team (Source: Humans& official website)
▲ From left to right: Noah Goodman, Andi Peng, Georges Harik, Yuchen He, Eric Zelikman (Source: Humans&)
💡 Vision: AI That Collaborates, Not Replaces
At its core, Humans& believes that AI should augment human capabilities, not replace them. The company aims to develop what they describe as:
“An AI version of an instant messaging app”
This innovative platform will go beyond traditional Q&A chatbots. Instead, it will feature AI agents capable of:
- Proactively asking questions to better understand user needs
- Remembering past interactions (equipped with memory)
- Exhibiting curiosity and contextual awareness
- Seamlessly integrating into group chats among colleagues, friends, or family
As CEO Eric Zelikman explained in a New York Times interview:
“Current AI is great at answering questions but fails at understanding what people truly want. The question-and-answer paradigm won’t get us to a future where AI enhances human collaboration.”
Andi Peng echoed this sentiment, criticizing the prevailing trend in AI development:
“Companies like Anthropic train models to work autonomously for hours — but that was never my goal. Machines and humans should be complementary.”
🏁 Conclusion: Top AI Talent Fuels Mega-Funding
While a $480 million seed round is extraordinary, it’s not unprecedented in today’s red-hot AI market. For context:
- Thinking Machines Lab raised $2 billion in seed funding last year (valuation: $12 billion)
- Startups like Unconventional AI and LMArena have also attracted significant capital
Despite concerns about an AI bubble, investors continue to back teams with elite pedigrees. However, as history shows, impressive resumes don’t guarantee product success.
The real test for Humans& lies ahead: Can they deliver on their bold vision of collaborative, human-centered AI?
Article originally published by Zhidx, author: Chen Junda.