Floworks, a Silicon Valley-based startup, has announced that it has raised $1.5 million in seed funding to further develop its AI assistant. The assistant, which is designed to revolutionize how workers interact with software, allows users to complete mundane enterprise tasks using plain natural language instructions. This innovative approach aims to enhance the worker experience rather than replace employees.
Key Takeaway
Floworks secured a $1.5 million seed investment for its AI assistant, which aims to change the way workers interact with software. The assistant allows users to complete mundane tasks by providing plain natural language instructions, enhancing the worker experience.
The Vision to Transform Software Usage
Floworks co-founders Sudipta Biswas and Sarthak Shrivastava were inspired to think bigger about their AI assistant after a conversation with veteran investor Vinod Khosla during their time at Y Combinator’s Winter 23 cohort. This conversation influenced the founders to build an AI assistant that could seamlessly integrate with various software products used by knowledge workers, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Salesforce. The goal is to enable users to execute tasks using simple natural language instructions.
Focus on Sales Use Cases and Expansion Plans
While Floworks is primarily focusing on sales use cases, it currently supports popular applications like HubSpot, Salesforce, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Gmail. However, the startup intends to gradually add more integrations and extend its capabilities to include workers in operations, product, and other areas within a company.
The process begins by users signing into the desired applications within the Floworks web app. They can then access the Floworks assistant on Slack, where they can describe their desired actions in plain language. For example, a user can add a new contact to the CRM database, schedule a calendar invite, and send an introductory email, all through the AI assistant. Each action triggers an approval, and if the assistant requires additional information or clarification, it will engage in a conversation on Slack to ensure accurate execution.
Floworks also has plans to expand its support to include Microsoft Teams in the future, further extending the reach of its AI assistant.
Differentiation Through Interoperability and Revenue Expansion
Floworks has already gained traction with paying customers and reports close to $250,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR). The startup aims to defend its market position against larger competitors by offering a unique proposition. Unlike competitors focused on their own product families, Floworks differentiates itself by enabling interoperability across multiple applications.
The startup currently has 11 employees and operates in both San Francisco and Bangalore, India. The co-founders emphasize the importance of building a diverse workforce to create a successful product. They believe that diversity is key to achieving their vision of transforming how the world uses software and welcome partners to join them in this endeavor.
The $1.5 million seed round, led by Y Combinator and Sense AI, with participation from Gaingels, Entrepreneur First, and ThinKuvate, closed in May and will fuel the further development and expansion of Floworks’ AI assistant.
