So when I heard that Marissa Mayer—the former Yahoo and Google marquee executive—was launching a new startup, Dazzle, I was intrigued. This follows the shuttering of her last entrepreneurial endeavor, Sunshine. With deep learning techniques Dazzle is creating the next generation of artificial intelligence personal assistants. So far, this new project has received a lot of buzz. It got there recently by raising $8 million in a seed funding round, led by venture capitalist Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures. The round was joined by some big-name investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Greycroft, Offline Ventures, Slow Ventures and Bling Capital.
Most recently, Mayer spent the last six years at Sunshine, a photo-sharing and contact management startup she founded. Her intention was to create the best-in-class R&D platform for innovation in the tech space. She was candid about the limitations of Sunshine. She confessed that the company’s troubles were too everyday, lacking the grandeur in scope a big enough shake-up would make. This awakening led her to shift focus onto Dazzle more, which she believes has more potential for impact.
“I have had the rare privilege of being at two companies that really changed how people do things,” Mayer stated regarding her entrepreneurial journey.
Dissolving Sunshine was not a decision made lightly. During its time the company was able to raise a total of $20 million from investors. Notable supporters included Felicis, Norwest Venture Partners and Unusual Ventures. When Sunshine was closed, Mayer made sure investors got at least 10% equity in Dazzle. Like any entrepreneur, she gets the added benefit of personally investing her own capital into the new venture.
Dazzle is still in stealth mode, but will likely make its public debut sometime early next year. The stage for Dazzle was set last summer when the Sunshine team first started prototyping the new AI assistant. Mayer was hopeful for what could be applied from Sunshine’s experience. She is convinced that these insights will enable her to create a more resilient and more impactful business with Dazzle.
Mayer Dazzle is just the beginning Mayer has loftier goals for Dazzle than her last startup. “I really aspire to build a product that has that kind of impact again,” she remarked, drawing parallels to her experience at Yahoo and Google. She hopes Dazzle’s solutions are the kind that can change the way their users experience and interact with technology at an aggregate level.
By 2024, Sunshine had built on its original launch by significantly adding event management features and an AI-powered photo-sharing tool. As Mayer looked back on the evolution of those developments, it was through the lens of regret about their unrealized promise. “I don’t think we got it to the state of overall polish and accessibility that I really wanted it to be,” she said, indicating her ambition for higher standards in Dazzle’s product development.
Kirsten Green’s participation in Dazzle’s recent $5 million funding round is a testament to Mayer’s vision and promise. Green is very good at finding potentially iconic consumer brands, such as Warby Parker and Dollar Shave Club. Arguably the biggest asset Taylor has, however, is her faith in Mayer. “I think she really has a great sense for where people and platforms are going,” Green noted.
Dazzle is preparing for a second national launch next spring. The tech community is currently looking with intense curiosity to see how Mayer’s new venture will leverage AI technologies to revolutionize personal assistance tools. Mayer’s tremendous support and rich experience will serve him very well. Her commitment to transforming her industry once again is what makes her a force.
