California woman founded 'boring' $1,900,000,000 AI startup after deciding to bet against ChatGPT

A woman who saw beyond friendly chatbots founded her own AI startup that is now valued at $1.9 billion. 

AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude have racked up millions of users in a relatively short span of time. 

The handy AI bots can help with a range of tasks, from lowering your bills to performing an oil change; some people are even ‘dating’ them. 

However, May Habib saw past consumer-centered chatbots and built her company Writer with a very different goal in mind. 

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The AI startup uses its own language models that are designed to get stuff done

Habib launched Writer in 2020, as an AI platform that could carry out complex business processes within regulated industries.

But shortly after launching, Covid-19 hit, and the whole world ground to a halt. 

While many startups took a step back, Habib knew that she was onto something big with Writer. 

Speaking to Inc, she explained that she believed that, unlike humans, large companies would start to use AI through novelty, but would be drawn to adopt it if it offered helpful ‘governance, security, and integration qualities’. 

In 2022, the company launched its own proprietary language models, which had been years in the making, and were different from public large language models, such as ChatGPT or Claude, as they were specifically designed for use within businesses. 

The Writer language models have been trained with industry-specific rules and frameworks, which means companies can create custom AI agents by simply connecting their own data, guidelines, and systems. 

And it goes a lot further than your standard chatbot. 

She explained that while other chatbots are designed to answer questions, Writer’s model is built for execution.

“Other AI chatbots can tell you what to do,” Habib told Venture Beat. 

“Action Agent does it. It’s the difference between getting a research report and having your entire sales pipeline updated and acted upon.”

Writer has some big-name customers and a staggering valuation

From its launch in 2020, the AI startup has since grown into a booming business with some big-name customers, including Uber, Mars, AstraZeneca, and Vanguard.

Habib told Inc, the company has ‘scaled aggressively’ and it appears to be showing no signs of slowing down with offices scattered across the globe, including New York, London, and Dublin.

Writer has raised $326 million in investments, which puts its valuation at a whopping $1.9 billion – and shows that when it comes to business, sometimes it pays to buck the trend.

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