Robert LoCascio, the founder who led LivePerson for nearly thirty years and helped pioneer web chat communication in 1997, has reemerged with a new venture focused on personal artificial intelligence.

Following advances in generative AI, LoCascio launched Eternos in 2024, a service designed to preserve an individual’s voice, memories, and personal stories for loved ones to interact with after their passing.

However, the startup has now undergone a strategic transformation.

The company gained widespread attention when its first user, the terminally ill Michael Bommer, devoted 25 hours to sharing his life experiences, values, and worldview to create a digital version of himself.

While Eternos was initially envisioned as a legacy preservation service, LoCascio soon discovered that many interested users were not preparing for the end of life. Instead, they wanted to utilize personal AI in their daily professional and creative endeavors.

In response, the company has rebranded as Uare.ai and shifted its focus toward building personal AI models that replicate an individual’s personality and decision-making style.

To do this, Uare.ai developed what it calls the Human Life Model (HLM)—a system that uses only the individual’s own information rather than general large language model data.

The approach is intended to ensure the resulting AI reflects its owner’s values, thought patterns, and lived experience.

LoCascio emphasized that the new direction also gives users full ownership of their digital model. “I started to realize that the big models are getting smarter because of us,” he told TechCrunch. “We don’t have to take that path. You own the model, and you can share it and monetize it.”

Uare.ai has secured $10.3 million in seed funding led by Mayfield and Boldstart Ventures.

The platform is expected to launch later this year, allowing individuals to train their personal AI by responding to guided questions about their background, key life moments, and professional knowledge.

Users will be able to contribute voice, text, and video recordings to make the model more accurate.

Unlike conversational AI platforms that rely on broad datasets to fill missing information, Uare.ai’s system operates only within the limits of what the individual provides.

If the AI does not have an answer, it will state, “I don’t know,” maintaining the integrity of the user’s representation.

Uare.ai plans to generate revenue through subscription packages or by taking a percentage of earnings when individuals use their personal AI models commercially.

Similar ventures in the industry include Delphi, a Sequoia-backed platform that allows users to engage with digital knowledge models of well-known personalities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield, Uare.ai stands out due to its focus on professionals—including consultants and accountants—who can use personal AI to extend their capacity and scale their work.

He also highlighted LoCascio’s proven track record as a key strength for the company’s future direction.

Source: Techcrunch