When self-taught coder Sigil Wen was 17, he moved to Silicon Valley, living in an AI hacker house alongside future AI giants. Now, the Thiel Fellow has launched Underdog, an invite-only, privacy-focused AI assistant that runs on your own hardware. Unlike many of its data-collecting competitors, Underdog keeps user data on local devices, offering a more secure, private experience.

The assistant is powered by Wen’s Husky inference engine, which efficiently processes AI models on your device. With only 27 billion parameters, it’s far smaller than today’s state-of-the-art models but still capable of handling everyday tasks like shopping research and homework answers. Wen argues that smaller models will continue to grow more capable over time, without compromising your privacy.

Underdog’s business model is equally innovative. The app will be free and ad-free, instead taking a small percentage of payment transactions made through Stripe’s secure payment rails. This means your AI assistant never needs to mine your data, making it as aligned with you as your bank or credit card providers. The startup is backed by a host of prominent investors, including Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison, Andreessen Horowitz, and Khosla Ventures.

Wen’s vision is clear: build an AI assistant that respects user privacy. As he wrote in his AI manifesto, ‘Why should using AI require surrendering your private information?’ He hopes to create a product that his future children can use with pride. Underdog could be a significant step towards a more secure and ethical AI future, one that recognises the value of privacy.