Rize, a San Francisco-based startup, announced the launch of its new AI productivity coach today. The coach uses machine learning (ML) to analyze users’ work patterns and provide personalized insights and recommendations to improve productivity and work-life balance.
“We realized there was no insight into how we spend our time at work. It was a complete blindspot,” said Rize co-founder MacGill Davis in an interview with VentureBeat. “We looked at existing solutions but they couldn’t provide the granularity or valuable insights we wanted.”
The new AI-powered coach tracks time spent in various applications and websites, detects when users are focused or distracted, and nudges them to take breaks at optimal times. According to Davis, it’s like having “a fitness tracker for your work” that helps you work “healthier and more efficiently.”
A data-driven approach to productivity
Early users have praised the app’s ability to help them take breaks, reduce overworking and have more energy at the end of the day. “I end my day feeling so much more refreshed and less exhausted,” Davis told VentureBeat.
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Rize’s AI coach enters a relatively sparse market dominated by basic time trackers and employee monitoring tools. The app’s user-centric approach and focus on improving individual productivity differentiates it from many competitors.
“We don’t want to sell to companies or infringe on privacy,” Davis emphasized. “Your productivity data is like health data — it should remain private.”
This focus on privacy could give Rize an advantage as concerns grow over employee surveillance. However, broader enterprise deals down the line could provide additional revenue streams.
Rize’s small founding team financed early development themselves before raising some venture capital, “about $500,000” in May 2022. Keeping the team lean has allowed the founders to retain control and grow responsibly.
“What sets us apart is that we have this really unique data set, because we basically track the apps or websites you’re using,” Davis told VentureBeat. “And really, there’s two companies that really have that data. It’s Apple, and it’s Google — and they’re not using it or presenting in the same way.”
The AI coach caps off years of development on Rize’s app. The timing appears fortuitous with remote work exploding in the past four years.
If the AI coach takes off as hoped, it could cement Rize as a leader in the quantified self and personal analytics spaces. More broadly, it shows how AI can create products that tangibly improve people’s lives.
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