Grocery rivals launch Nvidia-backed math software startup

Key facts

• Corca, a new math software startup, has secured $7.8 million in seed funding.
• The company was cofounded by Oleg Shevlyagin and Anton Gladkoborodov, who were previously rivals in the grocery delivery business.
• Nvidia's NVentures is among the key investors in Corca.
• Corca aims to provide a modern, collaborative workspace for mathematical tasks, likening its function to 'Cursor for math.'
• The startup plans to offer a free core product with future paid AI and computational features.

Two founders who previously competed in New York's grocery delivery market have teamed up to launch Corca, a math software startup that has raised $7.8 million in seed funding. Oleg Shevlyagin and Anton Gladkoborodov, whose respective companies 1520 and Fridge No More both failed, are now focusing on modernizing how people work with mathematical equations and calculations.

Corca, which stands for 'collaborative research capability,' offers a real-time collaborative workspace where users can write equations, perform calculations, and receive AI assistance. The company positions itself as a 'Cursor for math,' drawing a parallel to the AI coding startup Cursor. Shevlyagin and Gladkoborodov, who reconnected after their previous ventures collapsed, were inspired to create Corca due to the difficulties they encountered sharing mathematical work digitally, finding existing tools like MATLAB and LaTeX to be outdated.

The startup, currently with 12 employees, has attracted over 10,000 users. The newly raised capital will be used to further develop its product and expand the engineering team. Corca plans to keep its core product free while introducing paid AI and computational features later this year. The company targets engineers, researchers, and technical professionals, particularly in AI and finance, viewing itself as essential infrastructure for mathematical work across various industries.