Humans& Raises $480M Seed Round to Build AI with Social Intelligence
Humans&, founded by AI veterans, has raised a $480M seed round to build a new foundation model focused on social intelligence and team collaboration.
The era of one-on-one AI assistants is evolving into something far more complex: collective intelligence. Humans&, a startup founded by a "dream team" of alumni from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind, just announced a massive $480 million seed round. According to TechCrunch, this capital will fund the development of a "central nervous system" for human-AI collaboration.
Humans& AI Collaboration Seed Round 2026: Beyond Individual Chatbots
At just three months old, Humans& has already sparked a bidding war among investors. The company isn't just building another chatbot; it's designing a foundation model for social intelligence. CEO Eric Zelikman, formerly of xAI, argues that while current models are smart, workflows aren't. Humans& aims to close this gap by creating AI that can coordinate people with competing priorities and track long-running decisions.
The Technical Frontier: Long-Horizon and Multi-Agent RL
To achieve this, the team is focusing on Long-horizon Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Multi-agent RL. Unlike typical LLMs optimized for immediate user satisfaction, these models are trained to plan, act, and revise over time. Co-founder Yuchen He noted that the model needs to remember things about itself and the users to function as "connective tissue" across organizations.
We believe this is going to be a generational company, and we think that this has the potential to fundamentally change the future of how we interact with these models.
The stakes are high. Humans& is entering a field crowded by established giants. Anthropic is pushing Claude Cowork, while Google embeds Gemini directly into Workspace. Even smaller players like Granola—which recently raised $43 million at a $250 million valuation—are vying for the collaboration layer.
This content is AI-generated based on source articles. While we strive for accuracy, errors may occur. We recommend verifying with the original source.
Related Articles
A US official involved in the operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro made over $400,000 on Polymarket bets days before it happened. Now he has a name.
A US special forces soldier involved in the operation that captured Venezuela's Maduro allegedly used classified intel to bet on Polymarket, pocketing over $400,000. The case exposes a gaping hole in how prediction markets are regulated.
US Space Command confirms Russia has deployed operational anti-satellite weapons tracking American spy satellites in low-Earth orbit. What does this mean for space security?
Scammers posing as Iranian authorities are demanding bitcoin and tether from ships near the Strait of Hormuz—exploiting the fact that Iran already does exactly this.
A US official involved in the operation to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro made over $400,000 on Polymarket bets days before it happened. Now he has a name.
A US special forces soldier involved in the operation that captured Venezuela's Maduro allegedly used classified intel to bet on Polymarket, pocketing over $400,000. The case exposes a gaping hole in how prediction markets are regulated.
US Space Command confirms Russia has deployed operational anti-satellite weapons tracking American spy satellites in low-Earth orbit. What does this mean for space security?
Scammers posing as Iranian authorities are demanding bitcoin and tether from ships near the Strait of Hormuz—exploiting the fact that Iran already does exactly this.
Thoughts
Share your thoughts on this article
Sign in to join the conversation