Individuals typically use a number of apps for notes, schedule administration, and to-dos. However why not mix them multi function app? That’s the ethos behind Hero, an all-in-one productiveness app with an AI assistant (in fact!).
The iOS app was developed by former Meta workers Brad Kowalk and Seung W. Lee. Each met whereas engaged on Fb tales the place Kowalk was the product supervisor and Lee was an engineer. Kowalk additionally labored on new AI experiences on the firm till 2022.
“When we started working on a new project after working at Meta, we didn’t want to work on something that felt like we were helping people waste time. We actually wanted to create something that helps people save time,” Kowalk mentioned.
To date, the corporate has raised $4 million in seed funding from Instacart founder Max Mullen, Dropbox founder Arash Ferdowsi, Adobe’s Chief Technique Officer Scott Belsky, Meta’s VP of Messenger Ime Archibong, musical group The Chainsmokers, and enterprise corporations together with Neo and Summary.
Mullen, who met Hero’s co-founders by means of one other firm he had invested in, mentioned he was impressed by the startup’s imaginative and prescient.
“Hero had a clear vision for how he wanted to transform the way people think about AI apps. I think many consumer apps will have voice interfaces and assistants like Hero, which is trying to become an everyday app so you don’t need multiple apps,” he informed TechCrunch over a name.
Mullen mentioned Hero can be helpful for households and buddy teams as they won’t want to make use of so many apps to coordinate with one another.
The app itself has a single display screen the place you’ll be able to see your present day’s schedule, climate, a listing of to-dos, a grocery checklist, and your notes. On high of the display screen, you’ve an Instagram Tales-styled every day temporary containing your schedule, information recap, and a every day quote.
You may add individuals like pals, household, or teammates to the calendar to see their schedule and even share duties and notes with them. If they’re on the app, they will additionally touch upon something, akin to shared occasions or to-dos. (In the meanwhile, you’ll be able to share a to-do in a message-friendly format for individuals who aren’t on the app.)
You may as well create an occasion, reminder, or be aware, or add a grocery merchandise by means of the built-in AI assistant. The assistant can reply your queries utilizing Perplexity’s AI, and it can save you internet searches as a be aware.
Plus, the assistant helps you construct lists or notes. For example, you’ll be able to title a be aware saying “Movies like Challengers,” faucet on the counsel button, and generate a brand new checklist.
Kowalk believes that due to the rise within the variety of AI instruments out there to individuals, they finally received’t use completely different apps like a number of calendar apps, reminders, notes, and climate.
“There will be two categories of apps in the near future. A blank slate chat app like ChatGPT or Google Gemini and the one that shows your day. This app will bring your whole day into one place and will work with your friends and family with an intelligence layer on top of it. We want to be that app,” Kowalk mentioned.
He identified that once you use a number of apps, there’s an opportunity that whereas switching apps, you overlook what you meant to do and open TikTok or YouTube. He famous additionally that {couples} — due to social coordination options — and individuals who have simply completed faculty and are searching for a contemporary tackle productiveness are drawn to this app over issues like Google Calendar.
The app is free, and the corporate plans to maintain it that manner.
At present, customers can faucet on the Instacart icon within the grocery checklist to seek for all gadgets and place an order. The corporate takes a lower from these transactions.
Kowalk mentioned that that is the realm for monetization the corporate needs to concentrate on going ahead.
Hero is at present working to enhance the voice interplay with an assistant, and constructing a habits and objectives tracker and a characteristic so as to add occasions, to-dos, and notes from a picture or a screenshot.
