Maria de Lourdes Zollo is the CEO and Co-Founding father of Bee. She beforehand labored at Twitter as a Senior Product Supervisor and creator. Maria de Lourdes Zollo attended Università degli Studi di Milano.
Bee is a private AI wearable that transforms conversations and duties into summaries, insights, and reminders. It learns and adapts, providing proactive help whereas making certain privateness with a mute perform. With superior noise filtering, assist for 40 languages, and a seven-day battery life, Bee is designed for seamless, uninterrupted use. Its modular design permits versatile put on choices, and it integrates easily with iOS, offering an clever companion that enhances productiveness and retains customers current of their day by day lives.
What impressed you and Ethan to co-found Bee, and the way did your prior experiences at TikTok, Squad, and Twitter form your imaginative and prescient for this private AI wearable?
The journey to Bee started with an amusing realization – my first prototype was truly centered on make-up! I used to be making an attempt to unravel a private frustration round making knowledgeable buying choices with out always having to rebuild context on Google or Amazon. This expertise led me to discover a broader query about customized AI understanding.
When Ethan and I related, we found a captivating alignment. He had beforehand explored comparable ideas in 2016 with Olabot (earlier than pivoting to Squad), investigating whether or not AI may retain our reminiscences, pursuits, insights, and values. Whereas the know-how wasn’t prepared then, I noticed a chance to revisit and reimagine this idea in a totally new manner.
My expertise at TikTok had deeply impressed upon me the ability of really understanding customers and delivering customized experiences. With Ethan, we acknowledged the potential to create one thing revolutionary – AI that does not simply reply to instructions however builds real understanding by way of steady presence.
The timing was excellent. The know-how had lastly caught as much as allow our imaginative and prescient, and our experiences at main tech platforms had proven each the potential and limitations of present AI approaches. We based Bee as a result of we consider AI ought to do extra than simply execute instructions – it ought to perceive your world, anticipate your wants, and develop alongside you. This imaginative and prescient of know-how as a pure extension of your life, constructing deep private understanding by way of steady presence, is now lastly doable.
Bee is concentrated on making AI extra human-centered and contextually conscious. Why is that this such an essential focus for you, and the way do you see this shaping the way forward for AI know-how?
Making AI extra human-centered and contextually conscious is essential as a result of we’re at a transformative second in our relationship with know-how. Proper now, we’re always bombarded with notifications and duties that fragment our consideration and disconnect us from what really issues in our lives. Know-how promised to boost our existence, however as a substitute, it usually pulls us away from being current within the second.
For this reason we’re shifting away from the standard command-based AI mannequin. We consider AI ought to work in concord with human consideration fairly than competing for it. By creating AI that builds real understanding by way of steady presence, Bee can quietly soak up context and deal with mundane duties whereas permitting you to remain absolutely engaged in your life.
When your AI really understands context, it may well rework each bodily and digital experiences into significant insights with out demanding your fixed consideration. It is aware of when to step in and when to remain quiet. This aware method represents the way forward for AI – know-how that does not simply reply to requests however truly helps you be extra current by understanding the pure rhythm of your life. It is about creating know-how that respects our humanity whereas making our lives less complicated, extra related, and extra intentional.
Constructing a {hardware} product like Bee in simply 10 months isn’t any small feat. What have been among the greatest challenges, and the way did you overcome them?
Constructing Bee in simply 10 months was a journey that required rethinking conventional {hardware} growth. The most important problem wasn’t simply technical, however strategic: making the precise choices on the proper time. In contrast to software program the place you possibly can shortly iterate and reverse course, {hardware} growth is way much less forgiving. A single unsuitable resolution can value months of time and important sources.
To beat this, we took a intentionally iterative method. As a substitute of aiming for perfection from the beginning, we started with a easy {hardware} design that we may prototype shortly. We constructed a robust neighborhood of early customers right here in San Francisco who offered invaluable suggestions. This shut relationship with our customers allowed us to be taught and adapt quickly. Over the course of a 12 months, we went by way of 4 completely different machine iterations – they weren’t fairly, however every model taught us essential classes about what customers really wanted and wished.
This speedy prototyping and shut consumer suggestions loop was key to our success. Whereas the early prototypes may not have appeared stunning, they helped us keep away from the traditional {hardware} entice of spending an excessive amount of time perfecting one thing customers may not truly need. By staying near our customers and sustaining a fast iteration cycle, we have been capable of create a product that genuinely serves consumer wants fairly than simply our assumptions.
How did you method integrating AI with {hardware} whereas protecting it user-friendly and inexpensive?
Our method to integrating AI with {hardware} centered on intentional simplicity. We centered on making a clear, minimal design utilizing rigorously chosen supplies that enable us to maintain prices down whereas sustaining high quality. However the true magic of Bee is not in advanced {hardware} – it is within the software program expertise.
We have made Bee accessible by way of our Pioneer Version at $49.99 (common MSRP $99.99), with a $12 month-to-month subscription that unlocks superior capabilities. This pricing construction displays our perception that highly effective private AI ought to be accessible to everybody.
What makes Bee particular is how the AI learns and adapts to you over time. The {hardware} supplies the continual presence wanted for this understanding to develop, whereas the software program transforms your day by day experiences into significant insights and actions. This deal with software-driven worth, mixed with easy {hardware} design, permits us to ship an impactful AI expertise at an accessible worth level.
What units Bee aside from different AI wearables which have struggled to realize traction previously?
Our method stands aside as a result of we consider the way forward for private AI is not about creating one other standalone machine – it is about constructing steady understanding of your world. As a substitute of focusing totally on {hardware} capabilities, we’re taking a software-first method the place the machine serves as your AI’s connection to your day by day life.
What makes Bee completely different is how we’re constructing it – quick iteration instantly with our neighborhood, studying and adapting based mostly on actual consumer experiences. The Bee machine itself is deliberately easy, serving as your AI’s ears, whereas our software program creates a seamless connection between your digital and private life. Our seven-day battery life allows this steady presence, remodeling each on-line interactions and real-world conversations into significant insights.
We see private AI as a bridge between your digital footprint and bodily world, not simply one other gadget.
The modular design of Bee is intriguing. What impressed this flexibility, and the way do you see customers benefiting from it?
The modular design displays our understanding that private know-how ought to adapt to every consumer’s distinctive life-style. Our method is easy – present a core machine whereas letting customers customise how they put on and use Bee by way of completely different equipment based mostly on their particular person wants.
What’s fascinating is how our neighborhood has embraced this flexibility. We’re truly seeing customers request much more equipment and methods to adapt Bee to their day by day lives.
Privateness is a significant concern with gadgets that repeatedly pay attention and course of knowledge. How does Bee deal with these issues whereas sustaining its performance?
Privateness is prime to how we have designed Bee from the bottom up. We observe a easy precept: your private moments keep private. All conversations are processed in real-time and instantly deleted – we by no means retailer audio recordings. Customers have full management over their knowledge, with the flexibility to delete something at any time.
We keep the very best safety requirements as a result of we consider belief is important for private AI. We by no means use your knowledge for AI coaching, by no means promote it, and by no means share it with third events.
Bee combines AI and wearables in a novel manner. Are you able to share insights into the event course of and the way you balanced innovation with practicality?
Growing Bee meant reimagining how AI and {hardware} may work collectively. We centered on creating seamless integration between bodily and digital experiences, connecting with electronic mail, calendar, and different providers whereas studying from real-world interactions. Our beta testing of automated brokers for duties like sending emails and WhatsApp messages reveals how we’re pushing the boundaries of non-public AI capabilities.
How do you envision Bee enhancing folks’s day by day lives in ways in which present applied sciences haven’t?
Bee helps folks keep current by understanding their world and dealing with duties within the background. It captures key moments, reminds customers of commitments, and reduces distractions, permitting them to deal with what really issues.
How do you see AI wearables evolving over the following 5 years, and what function do you envision Bee enjoying on this ecosystem?
The way forward for AI wearables lies in creating AI that actually understands context and integrates seamlessly into day by day life. Bee is main this shift by specializing in steady studying and adaptation fairly than simply including extra options.
Thanks for the nice interview, readers who want to be taught extra ought to go to Bee.
