Key facts
- Ghost, a startup focused on personal AI, has raised $11 million in seed funding.
- The company's first product, Core, is a personal computer designed for AI agents.
- Core costs $3,499 and includes an Nvidia RTX Pro 4000 SFF Blackwell GPU.
- Pre-orders for Core open Monday, with shipping scheduled for the last week of October.
- Core is designed to centralize a person's data and run AI agents locally and autonomously.
- The device features its own software layer, browser, and filing system, and supports over-the-air updates for AI models.
Ghost, a startup focused on personal AI, has emerged from stealth after a year of development, announcing an $11 million seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company was founded by 19-year-old Zain Javaid, who was previously interested in quantitative finance before being inspired by the release of ChatGPT.
Ghost's inaugural product is Core, a personal computer specifically engineered to run AI agents. The device aims to centralize a user's data from various sources, including desktops, apps, and smart home devices, onto a single piece of hardware. This allows AI agents to continuously operate as assistants, perform tasks, and understand the user's life without constant prompting.
Core is equipped with an Nvidia RTX Pro 4000 SFF Blackwell GPU, a chip commonly used for AI models, which is included in its $3,499 price. The computer features its own software layer, browser, and filing system, and supports over-the-air updates for AI models, similar to Tesla's approach. Users can also install additional models from platforms like Hugging Face or load their own trained models. Unlike general-purpose computers like the Mac Mini, Core's hardware and software are purpose-built for running AI agents.
The company builds the units at its San Francisco facility, aiming to provide a user-friendly experience that requires minimal setup. All personal data, models, and memory are stored and processed locally on the device, with encryption to prevent access by third parties, including Ghost. The device is designed to remain functional even if Ghost ceases operations. A firewall is also being developed to monitor outgoing network requests and flag suspicious agent activity.
Javaid expressed confidence in competing with established tech companies, emphasizing that Core's differentiation lies in its software, particularly how the AI model reasons over user data, remembers information, takes action, and initiates contact. He provided an example where Core could proactively notify a user about potential illness based on elevated heart rate, late-night work patterns, and seasonal context.