Continua launched with an $8 million seed round to bring AI agents into group chats on SMS, iMessage, and Discord. Founded by David Petrou, a veteran Googler behind Google Goggles and Glass, Continua’s AI joins group conversations to offer help without clutter.
Petrou saw how people used ChatGPT separately, then copy-pasted info into chats. Continua aims to fix that by embedding AI directly inside groups to handle planning, polls, reminders, calendars, and docs—all in real time.
“The simple way to think about it is that we’re bringing the power of LLMs to group chats,” Petrou told TechCrunch.
The AI stays quiet unless needed, mimicking social intelligence. Users can tell it to hang back or jump in. If someone forgets details—a meeting time, location—they can DM Continua privately for a quick recap.
“You want the agent to have social intelligence,” Petrou said. He added that they had to “break the LLM’s brain” to naturally integrate the AI into conversations.
Continua’s tech is built to crack the hard problem of AI in groups, where multiple humans talk and most models expect one-on-one chat. The agent adjusts to avoid spamming replies.
The $8M round was led by GV, with Bessemer Ventures and angels onboard. Erik Nordlander from GV backed Petrou before Continua fully existed.
“David is a really brilliant engineer, someone who’s been working with AI since before it was the hot thing.”
Continua’s roadmap includes charging for event planning and trip booking help. To use it, just add its number to group SMS or username in Discord.
This move follows rising interest in AI chat assistants by Meta and startups like Hey Umai—Continua aims to own the group chat niche.
