Viven, a new startup focused on creating artificial intelligence-powered digital twins for employees, has announced it secured $35 million in seed funding. The company, co-founded by Ashutosh Garg and Varun Kacholia of the AI recruiting firm Eightfold, aims to improve workplace communication and project efficiency. This investment round included contributions from notable firms such as Khosla Ventures, Foundation Capital, and FPV Ventures.
Key Takeaways
- Viven launched from stealth with $35 million in seed funding.
- The company creates AI digital twins for employees to enhance internal communication.
- Technology uses specialized Large Language Models (LLMs) and privacy features.
- Co-founders Ashutosh Garg and Varun Kacholia also lead Eightfold.
- Viven's system addresses information access and privacy challenges in workplaces.
Addressing Workplace Communication Challenges
Employees often face delays when vital information is held by an unavailable colleague. This can happen when a team member is on vacation, in a different time zone, or simply busy with other tasks. Such delays can slow down project progress and reduce overall team productivity. The co-founders of Viven believe that advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) and data privacy technologies can offer a solution to this persistent problem.
Ashutosh Garg and Varun Kacholia, who previously founded and continue to lead Eightfold, an AI recruiting startup valued at $2.1 billion, identified this gap. They developed Viven with the goal of providing employees with immediate access to crucial information, even when their colleagues are not directly available to respond.
Funding Snapshot
- Total Seed Funding: $35 million
- Lead Investors: Khosla Ventures, Foundation Capital, FPV Ventures
- Company Focus: AI digital twins for enterprise employees
How Viven's Digital Twins Work
Viven's core technology involves developing a specialized LLM for each employee within an organization. This creates a digital twin that can access the employee's internal electronic documents. These documents include emails, Slack messages, and Google Docs. The system essentially learns from an individual's accumulated professional knowledge and communications.
Once a digital twin is established, other employees can query it to receive immediate answers to questions. These questions typically relate to common projects, shared knowledge, or specific work-related information. The aim is to streamline information flow and reduce dependencies on individual availability.
"When each and every person has a digital twin, you can just talk to their twin as if you’re talking to that person and get the response," Ashutosh Garg told TechCrunch.
Ensuring Data Privacy and Context
A significant challenge in creating such a system is managing data privacy and ensuring that sensitive information remains confidential. Employees often handle proprietary data or have personal files they do not wish to share widely within the team. Viven addresses this through a concept called pairwise context and privacy.
According to Ashutosh Garg, this technology allows Viven's LLMs to precisely determine what information can be shared, and with whom, across the organization. The system is designed to recognize personal context and protect private information, such as details related to an employee's personal life. This intelligent filtering ensures that only relevant and permissible data is shared.
Another important safeguard built into the system is transparency. Every employee can view the query history of their own digital twin. This feature acts as a deterrent, discouraging inappropriate or unauthorized questions, and fostering trust in the system's use.
"It’s a very hard problem to solve, and until recently, it was unsolvable," Ashu Garg, a general partner at Foundation Capital, commented on the complexity of Viven's privacy solution.
Background on Co-founders
Ashutosh Garg and Varun Kacholia are also the co-founders of Eightfold, an AI recruiting platform. Eightfold was last valued at $2.1 billion. Both continue to lead Eightfold while also developing Viven, demonstrating their commitment to advancing AI solutions in the enterprise space.
Early Adoption and Market Position
Viven is already being used by several enterprise clients. These include Genpact and Eightfold, the co-founders' other company. This early adoption suggests a practical application and demand for the technology in large organizations.
Ashutosh Garg stated that Viven currently faces no direct competition in the specific niche of digital twins for enterprise. He initially consulted with legendary investor Vinod Khosla about the idea. Khosla reportedly confirmed the lack of direct competitors and agreed to invest, signaling strong confidence in Viven's unique market position.
Ashu Garg of Foundation Capital also expressed enthusiasm for Viven's potential. He highlighted the pervasive nature of communication and coordination issues across all jobs as a major problem that no one was effectively automating until now. This horizontal application across various roles makes Viven's solution particularly impactful.
Key Features of Viven's AI
- Specialized LLMs: Unique model for each employee.
- Internal Document Access: Integrates with email, Slack, Google Docs.
- Pairwise Context & Privacy: Controls what information is shared and with whom.
- Query History Transparency: Employees can see who queried their twin.
Future Outlook and Competitive Landscape
While Viven currently operates without direct competitors, the landscape of AI technology is rapidly evolving. Other major tech companies are developing advanced AI tools with personalization features. These include Anthropic, Google's Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenAI's enterprise search products.
Should these larger players enter the specialized market for enterprise digital twins, Viven hopes its proprietary "pairwise" context technology will serve as a significant competitive advantage. This unique approach to privacy and context-aware information sharing is designed to be a strong differentiator, protecting its market position in the long term.
The successful seed funding round positions Viven to further develop its technology and expand its client base. The company's focus on solving common workplace inefficiencies through secure and intelligent AI solutions marks a notable advancement in enterprise communication tools.