A week in AI is like a year in other industries. I hope these issues become your weekly source of AI information, inspiration, and ideas. If we haven’t met before, I’m Amanda Smith. I write about AI and the fascinating folks who are building in this brave new world.
Good morning. Three stories this week. One founder raised $103M to rebuild a category of software that hasn't changed in decades. One watched his grandfather decline after retirement and decided the phone was the answer. And one was at a games industry event, texting his friend relationship advice mid-pitch, and thought: someone should build a Grammarly for that.
All three are worth your time. Here's your catch-up.
This week in AI:
OpenAI fires back at Anthropic on privacy
A new system that monitors for misuse without retaining any customer data.Calendly joins the notetaker race
Every productivity tool has one now. Calendly's angle is automating what happens after the meeting ends.Americans are souring on AI
52% said they're more concerned than excited about AI in daily life. Up from 37% in 2021.Google packs AI study tools into Search and Gemini
Interactive visuals, 3D simulations, practice quizzes. The education play is getting serious.
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John Glasgow led the $625M sale of Invoice2go to Bill.com and came out of it convinced that general ledger software was broken. He'd managed 500+ diligence requests in spreadsheets because the finance stack simply didn't hold up. So he applied to Y Combinator, built the first version of Campfire in Google Sheets with live bank feeds wired in, and had a paying customer within a month. The company now has 130 people, its own proprietary foundation model trained specifically on accounting data, and offices in San Francisco, New York, and London. Glasgow says this is the last job he'll ever have. He plans to take it public.
Igor Gurovich watched his psychiatrist grandfather work brilliantly until 90, then decline fast the moment he stopped. The technology at the time failed him. The only thing that still worked was the phone. That observation became Callie Care, a voice AI that calls seniors over ordinary phone lines, including landlines, with no app or setup required. It books rides, orders groceries, manages medications, and checks in. One member took 27 rides in a month. Another replaced both her car and her driving daughter. The 65+ population in the US hits 73 million by 2030 and the care system is running short of both money and caregivers. Gurovich is very early, and very well positioned.
Byron Hord was at a games industry event trying to pitch his work when his friend kept texting him asking for relationship advice. He made a joke that someone should build a Grammarly for texting. Two weeks later he had a co-founder and a prototype. Smoothly is a marketplace where every AI agent is backed by a real person who has passed a clinically-endorsed communication assessment. Users get suggested responses shaped by someone who has actually proven they can communicate. Creators earn every time their agent is used. It covers dating, professional, and social conversations, and Hord built it largely solo. His advice to other founders: get sleep now, because we're still at the very start.
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If one of these stories stuck with you, I’d love to hear which one.
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