Context, a startup constructing an AI-powered workplace suite, on Wednesday introduced that it raised $11 million in a seed spherical led by Lux Capital with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Common Catalyst. The spherical, which brings the company’s total raised to round $15.75 million, values Context at $70 million.

Founder Joseph Semrai, a Thiel Fellow, began engaged on Context in 2024 after he realized that present digital workplace suites should not well-suited to make the most of AI fashions.

“[W]e have a bunch of disparate functions that aren’t essentially constructed conserving the facility of [AI models] in thoughts,” Semrai advised TechCrunch in a telephone interview. “We need to make the most of the truth that [models] can perceive giant context home windows and use a number of functions on the identical time to get the very best consequence.”

Over the previous few years, many startups in the productivity and browsing space have made consumer interface modifications to undertake a chat-forward expertise, largely because of the rise of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT. Semrai thinks that Context, which is equally chat-focused, could be a highly effective device for staff utilizing an workplace suite, much like how Cursor has turn out to be a helpful software for programmers.

Workplace suite makers like Google and Microsoft have infused AI into their functions. Canva, which has been within the artistic area traditionally, can also be designing merchandise that go well with all types of workplace work with AI at the center. Notion, in the meantime, is constructing an enterprise workplace with an AI search and research mode.

Many of those merchandise provide connectors to third-party functions. However Semrai stated that whereas connecting to sources and retrieving knowledge is changing into commoditized, new-age instruments don’t at all times ship capabilities that assist with evaluation. That, he stated, is the place Context is available in — it’s designed to make it simpler for customers to purpose over the info they fetch from varied sources and make selections based mostly on that.

Context has a easy interface with a chat field within the middle. You’ll be able to ask the AI device to carry out analysis derived out of your paperwork, integrations, and net information. You’ll be able to then ask it to transform all this to a doc, spreadsheet, or presentation, whereas persevering with to work together with it to generate totally different artifacts.

Context additionally affords a Python interpreter to allow you to run code.

The purpose isn’t essentially changing a totally featured workplace suite like Microsoft 365. Reasonably, Context goes after a market not well-served by the present crop of instruments, in line with Semrai. For instance, in contrast to many AI-powered knowledge evaluation merchandise, Context will quickly be capable of work offline, enabling easy evaluation and doc drafting based mostly on current knowledge and paperwork through Context’s desktop shopper.

Customers can check out Context totally free with 50 credit, one workspace, and 10 workforce members. Alternatively, they’ll pay $20 per 30 days to get 2,000 credit with no limits on workspaces and workforce members.