Ando launches messaging app for teams with humans and AI agents
Ando has emerged from stealth with a team messaging platform designed for human workers and AI agents. According to TechCrunch, agents receive their own identities and inboxes, can join channels, direct messages, group conversations and transcribed calls, and can message a person when they determine that someone needs to be notified. The goal is to remove the need for people to relay agents’ work to their teams.
The startup announced $20 million in pre-seed and seed funding from investors including Accel, Index Ventures and Emergence. Ando aims to compete with Slack and Microsoft Teams, which already support agents and AI features, as well as Jack Dorsey’s Buzz, which is more focused on developers. The company says agents can connect discussions across channels, bring participants together and suggest decisions without being prompted.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
Ando’s approach treats agents as identifiable participants in conversations, with inboxes and the ability to notify people directly, which could reduce the need for human relay. Its $20 million funding signals an effort to compete in this space with Slack and Microsoft Teams.
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