Prentis AI lab co-founded by Reid Hoffman is in talks to raise $100M

In short: Prentis, a new AI research lab co-founded by Reid Hoffman and Marc Pincus, is reportedly in talks to raise $100 million at a $1 billion valuation.

What happened

Prentis launched in April and says it is building AI that can use a computer the way an office worker does. Think of it like a helper that can click buttons, fill forms, and move between apps (like a very fast assistant following a checklist).

According to TechCrunch, the company is discussing a new funding round of $100 million, and the talks value the company at about $1 billion. The report cites two people familiar with the discussions.

Prentis is led by CEO Ritankar Das, and it is also co-founded by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Marc Pincus. TechCrunch reports that Prentis has hired more than 25 people, including researchers who previously worked at firms like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Meta.

The company says it has signed customer contracts worth up to $50 million. TechCrunch notes these numbers are not the same as booked revenue, and can depend on performance, because Prentis describes its fees as tied to a share of savings it delivers.

Prentis also claims its “Hive-32B” model performs better than some rivals on tests that measure whether an AI can complete tasks in real Windows apps and find the right on-screen controls. TechCrunch says it has not independently verified these results.

Why it matters

More companies are trying to build AI tools that do work inside everyday software, not just chat or write code. If these tools work reliably, they could reduce time spent on repetitive paperwork and back-office tasks, but businesses will likely look closely at real results, costs, and errors before trusting them with important workflows.

Source: TechCrunch AI