Ambient intelligence startup Mistlabs Ltd. today brought its Ambi artificial intelligence system out of beta test on Apple Inc. devices, backed by $26 million in new funding.

Ambi is designed to act without being asked. Chief Executive Peter Mo said most AI platforms are built to complete tasks, and Mistlabs wants to see what becomes possible once software can “understand, reason and act in real time.” Ambi’s actions can sometimes come “before the user even thinks to ask,” he said.

To do that, Ambi learns about a person from the conversations it hears on their iPhone, Apple Watch or Mac, and Mistlabs said the software’s read on how that person likes to work sharpens over time. None of it is locked to a single device. Whatever Ambi is in the middle of follows the user from the Mac to the phone or watch.

A user who sets up a Routine hands a recurring job to several agents at once, and those agents work from everything Ambi has picked up about that person. In one example the company gives, someone sits through a meeting about competitors while the agents fact-check what is being said as the discussion unfolds. Ambi may have compared the rival products and drafted a proposal on the user’s MacBook before anyone leaves the room. The agents keep at it once the meeting ends, flagging missing information or new developments as the project moves along.

Further out, Mistlabs wants Ambi agents to negotiate with each other. The capability is due in the coming months and would come into play when two people using the software sit in the same meeting. Each agent would draw on what it knows about its own user, and together they would work out where the two sides’ priorities overlap.

Likely sticking points would surface as well. From there the agents are meant to bargain toward a result both people can accept, all while the conversation is still going. Users set the permissions that govern what their agent can do.

The $26 million raised ahead of the launch will pay for a standalone wearable Mistlabs is building to give Ambi more context about its users and their surroundings. Mo said hardware will let the system extend to “entirely new device types” over time. Luminous Ventures and Huaqin Technology Co. Ltd. led the San Francisco company’s Pre-A round. Huaqin, based in Shanghai, designs and manufactures smart devices for other brands.

Ambi is available now on Macs and on Apple devices that support iOS 18, with audio storage switched off by default. Anyone interested in the wearable can join a waitlist, and Mistlabs said the device will follow later this year.

Image: Mistlabs