Humans&, a Helsinki-based human-centric AI startup, has been turning heads lately after raising $480 million in seed funding. The firm was started by former employees of Anthropic, xAI, and Google. The company is a mission-driven enterprise bent on arriving at an entirely new model. This proposed model should serve as the “central nervous system” for the new human-plus-AI economy that’s on the way. This deeply transformative project aims to support more productive interaction and collaboration between people and AI systems. Most importantly, it will ensure an honest to God more collaborative workspace.
Andi Peng, Yuchen He, and Eric Zelikman are co-founders of Humans&. They merge deeply technical and nuanced experience honed from leading AI institutions to effectively advance their mission. Andi Peng, a former policy analyst at Anthropic, joins Yuchen He, who formerly served as an OpenAI research scientist. They team up with ace product architect Eric Zelikman, who’s got an xAI background. They ignore doing actual research on how they can align AI to human goals. They make sure these people-powered revolutions stay focused on what humans really want and how we’re motivated.
The core innovation of Humans& lies in its model, which is designed to act as the “connective tissue” across various organizations. This model can help us notice and call out the distinct skills and motivations of every member on a team. It goes beyond just hearing what they want. With regard to those three interests, the model instead emphasizes striking a balance to serve the whole community. Its aim is to make the work experience more balanced and effective.
To do this effectively, Humans& is using state-of-the-art long-horizon, multi-agent RL techniques. This unique method teaches the model in spaces filled with other AIs and humans moving, talking and reacting all at once. Or how to manage the space and time that it takes to learn to ask questions instinctively. Conversation will be as easy and fluid as talking with a neighbor or coworker. By moving to this more interactive design, we hope to provide a more user-friendly and intuitive experience. It promotes productive teamwork between humans and AI software.
The founders of Humans& emphasize that their focus is on enhancing communication and collaboration. AI is quickly becoming an integral aspect of our everyday workflows. As this technology continues to develop and enter our everyday lives, better collaboration between people and technology is essential. The company’s platform is poised to improve this critical interaction. It’s a beautiful tool that offers knowledge and wisdom that allows people to operate collectively with greater impact.
With its $41 million in funding, Humans& will definitely look to ramp up its development work. The funding will support research and development activities aimed at refining the model and ensuring it meets the diverse needs of various organizations. Humans& draws on a wealth of experience from its founders. As the world’s first fully integrated technology company, the company is set to take big leaps in human-AI interaction.
As the landscape of AI rapidly changes, so does the need for human-centered designs. Humans& understands that doing AI right takes more than just cutting-edge technology. It is more than that, too—it takes a profound understanding of the human condition and the structure of team versus chaos. By focusing on the nuances of communication and collaboration, Humans& aspires to bridge the gap between human capabilities and AI functionalities.