jo

Active

A new personal AI that actually knows you.

Spring 2026Founded 20232 peopleMenlo Park, CA, USA; Remote

askjo.ai ↗LinkedIn ↗X ↗GitHub ↗See on the Idea Map Consumer momentum

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AI insightcan contain mistakes

Personal AI AssistantSaaSIndividual consumers, productivity-focused usersHigh competition

Moat

Local + private cloud execution; autonomously improves; multi-platform (Mac, messaging).

Key risk

Crowded AI assistant market; low willingness-to-pay; privacy advantage commoditizes.

Why now

AI assistants personalization and privacy concerns; local execution becomes premium feature.

Competitors

ChatGPT, Claude (web), Siri, Google Assistant

About

jo is a personal AI that runs on your Mac and a private cloud machine we host for you. It knows your life, improves itself autonomously, chats via Telegram and WhatsApp, and never shares your data. Less "chatbot" and more "a second brain that does things."

From their website

as of Jun 7, 2026askjo.ai ↗

SaaSSubscription

jo is a personal AI assistant that integrates with your apps and devices to manage plans, people, and ongoing projects. It learns your writing style and preferences, offers context-aware drafts and nudges, and runs locally on your Mac with optional cloud support. It emphasizes privacy with zero-data-retention endpoints and configurable AI model usage.

jo connects existing apps (mail, calendar, notes, browsers, chats) to create a living map of your life (people, plans, projects). It continuously analyzes this map, recaps daily, and surfaces timely briefings, drafts, reminders, and nudges. It runs on a local cloud computer and keeps raw data on your Mac; cloud interactions are performed only when you enable features or give explicit prompts. You can choose from multiple AI models (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Kimi) with zero-data-retention endpoints, and you can switch models anytime. Pricing includes a 3-day full trial, then a monthly subscription. The product is accessible across Mac, mobile, Telegram, WhatsApp, and email, with persistent memory across devices.

Features

connects with mail, calendar, notes, browsers, and chats
personalized drafts and replies in your own voice
contextual nudges and reminders at the right moment
cross-device memory with consistent experience on Mac, mobile, Telegram, and WhatsApp
privacy-first architecture with zero-data-retention endpoints
choice of AI models with switchable providers
local data stay on device with optional cloud processing

3-day trial and public pricing, multiple live integrations, user testimonials

Founders · 2

Pradeep ElankumaranFounder

I work on consumer companies. Co-founded: jo (w24), farmstead (s16), kicksend (s11)

LinkedIn ↗X ↗

Kevin LiFounder

CMO @ jo (YC W24), Co-Founder @ Farmstead (YC S16), intern @ Kabam. 🟤 in judo, love gymnastics rings, and video games 🎮

LinkedIn ↗X ↗

Product evolution · 2 launches

How jo’s pitch changed across its YC launches — the in-source evolution signal.

jo: Your macOS Productivity Sidekick · Dec 2024#1 of 2
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jo is a voice-first digital personality that works alongside you every day – a smart and efficient new friend who saves you time and money while improving your quality of life.
jo is a voice-first AI assistant for macOS that proactively helps with frequent, low-stakes tasks like scheduling, searches, and email drafting. It uses local and remote LLMs, integrates with Google Calendar and Gmail, and responds at low latency via voice or text.
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jo 1.0 - a personal AI that actually knows you · Mar 2026#2 of 2
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Less "chatbot" and more "a second brain that does things."
jo 1.0 is a personal AI for Mac that learns user preferences over time, runs on users' machines with private cloud storage, and operates across Telegram and WhatsApp. It handles tasks like browsing automation, email searches, and autonomous recurring automations based on user history.
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