Andi

Andi positions itself as a conversational search engine, moving beyond traditional lists of links to provide direct answers. Founded in 2021 by CEO Angela Hoover and CTO Jed White, the company aims to rectify what it sees as a broken search landscape dominated by advertising, SEO spam, and user surveillance. The founding story is one of serendipity, with Hoover and White meeting at the Denver airport and bonding over their shared frustrations with existing search tools.

The founders bring a unique blend of experiences to the venture. Angela Hoover's background is unconventional for a tech CEO; she transitioned from being a construction laborer to working with Microsoft on Azure and later founded a travel influencer startup before conceiving the idea for a Gen-Z-focused search engine. Jed White is a seasoned technologist with over two decades of experience in search and AI. He began programming at age eight, later became the editor-in-chief of a major Australian computer magazine, and developed a start page that attracted 3 million users.

Andi's core product is an AI-powered search assistant that leverages large language models, live data, and semantic search technology to deliver answers, summaries, and explanations. Instead of just indexing keywords, the platform attempts to understand the context of a query to provide more relevant results. It presents information through a visually-oriented, conversational interface that resembles a chat application, offering different views like feeds or grids. Key features include the ability to summarize articles, explain complex topics, and generate factually grounded text. The platform is designed to be ad-free and privacy-focused, deliberately avoiding the data collection practices of incumbent search giants.

The company targets a younger demographic, particularly Gen Z users who are accustomed to visual and interactive digital experiences on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. This user base, often frustrated with the clutter of traditional search engines, has driven Andi's early growth primarily through word-of-mouth. While currently free to use, the company has indicated that future monetization will come from premium features available through paid plans. Andi has secured $2.5 million in funding from investors including Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, Gaingels, and K20 Fund.

Keywords: conversational AI, generative AI search, semantic search, AI assistant, search engine alternative, ad-free search, privacy-focused search, direct answers, information summary, Y Combinator, Angela Hoover, Jed White, AI chatbot, visual search, next-generation search, knowledge engine, AI content generation, search technology, startup, San Francisco