In a bold move that has caught the tech world’s attention, David Petrou, an esteemed engineer and one of the founding minds behind Google Goggles and Glass, has decided to leave his 17-year tenure at Google to embark on his own entrepreneurial journey.

"I witnessed technology evolving at an unprecedented rate and felt that certain innovative ideas are best pursued within a startup setting," Petrou shared in an interview with TechCrunch.

His brainchild, Continua, aims to revolutionize group chats on platforms like SMS, iMessage, and Discord by integrating AI agents that streamline collaboration and enhance interaction.

"We're essentially harnessing the prowess of large language models (LLMs) to make group chats smarter and more efficient," Petrou explained.

In an impressive stride forward, Continua just announced a successful seed funding round, raising a whopping $8 million. The initiative was spearheaded by GV, with support also coming from Bessemer Ventures Partners and a selection of angel investors.

Petrou noted an intriguing trend in chat behavior—many users interact with LLMs like ChatGPT and then manually copy their insights back into group discussions. He thought, why not have AI contribute directly?

Imagine planning a trip or deciding what to have for dinner, with an AI that can seamlessly facilitate discussions by jumping in with helpful information exactly when it’s needed.

Continua's AI agents are designed to cut through the noise of group chats, intelligently providing reminders, launching polls, or creating shared documents with lists and agendas. Users can simply DM Continua to retrieve critical information like meeting times or links.

While it sounds straightforward, Petrou revealed that integrating LLMs into group conversations poses unique challenges. Most AI models are tailored to one-on-one interactions, meaning Continua’s team had to innovate to adapt these systems for group dynamics.

Petrou emphasized the importance of having an AI with social acumen: "It’s crucial that Continua doesn’t respond to every message. We aimed to make it socially aware and able to fit into conversations naturally." Users can call upon Continua for assistance or tell it to "hang back" if it’s chiming in too often.

Getting started with Continua is simple: users can add its contact number in SMS groups or its username in Discord.

Although other companies like Meta and the startup Hey Umai are venturing into conversational AI, Petrou contends that Continua is uniquely suited for managing group chats.

Erik Nordlander, a general partner at GV, recognized Petrou’s brilliance and decided to invest even before Continua’s full concept was crystallized. "David is a remarkable engineer, who has been innovating with AI long before it gained mainstream popularity," he noted.

With several potential paths to profitability, including aiding in event planning and travel booking, Nordlander envisions a bright commercial future for Continua. This innovative new player is poised to change how we communicate in groups forever!