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The Polana AI co-founders, from left: CEO Maria Zhang, Chief Scientist Steve Liu, and CTO Tim Howes. (Polana Photos)
A onetime Seattle startup founder who went on to lead engineering teams at Google, Meta, Yahoo, Tinder and LinkedIn, is heading up a new startup called Palona AI that builds customer-facing AI agents for retail businesses.
Palona AI officially launched Thursday with $10 million in seed funding.
Its mission is to help businesses easily create a customized AI system that learns about customers, adapts to their needs, and takes action on their behalf. Palona develops proprietary AI systems with multi-agents, multimodal models, combined with an emotional intelligence language model.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is led by co-founder and CEO Maria Zhang, who previously founded Bellevue, Wash.-based Alike, an app for restaurant and entertainment recommendations, that was acquired by Yahoo in 2013. Zhang’s background also includes stints at Microsoft and Zillow.
Palona’s co-founders include Chief Scientist Steve Liu, a former chief scientist at Samsung AI Center and Tinder, and a tenured professor at McGill University; and CTO Tim Howes, co-inventor of LDAP, the internet directory protocol, who most recently led developer productivity at Meta AI Infrastructure.
The startup has two employees based at an office in Kirkland, Wash., and is interviewing for a couple more potential hires.
“We have pioneered generative AI technology to help businesses grow by giving them AI that breathes life into their brands,” Zhang said in a news release. “Palona will replace the shopping ‘doomscroll’ with a delightfully friendly and individualized experience that builds relationships.”
Early customers include Seattle-area smart home camera maker Wyze; South Carolina wellness center Mindzero; and West Coast pizza chain Pizza My Heart.
Zhang was a GeekWire Geek of the Week in 2012 and sold her mobile marketing startup, Alike, to Yahoo in 2013. She was a VP of engineering at Yahoo, Google, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and was CTO at Tinder. She launched Proactive AI Lab in June.
Zhang also went through a high-profile legal battle at Yahoo in 2015 over allegations of sexual harassment.
Palona AI’s seed round investors included UpHonest Capital, Fusion Fund, Maynard Webb, NEO Investment Partners, and other strategic angels and institutions.
