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Rich Tong.
Rich Tong has seen multiple technological revolutions. He believes we’re at the beginning of another one.
Tong, a former Windows leader in the 1990s who later co-founded Seattle-area venture capital firm Ignition Partners, is jumping on the AI train with a new startup called Total Neural Enterprises.
The startup, founded in 2022, is betting that other companies want to adopt AI — but they need help doing so.
TNE is building what Tong describes as an “integration layer for businesses” that streamlines the design and deployment of AI tools.
“Our goal is to take all these really great advances and turn them into regular old pieces of software that really help people,” Tong said.
Its first product is called Persuasion, which analyzes a company’s spreadsheets, databases, documents, and more to develop recommendations. Customers can set “business rules” to help guide the software. The idea is to expedite the work that goes into compiling memos or reports.
It’s possible to do this using a combination of existing AI tools, but TNE wants to make it easier and faster for companies to implement.
Tong was at Microsoft for more than 11 years, including a stint as vice president of marketing for Microsoft Office.
He’s seen how the internet, the cloud, and then mobile shook up the tech world. And he’s confident that AI will have a similar seismic shift.
“The opportunities to augment and help what people are doing are so vast,” he said. Tong believes productivity in programming will increase by “100X.”
There are plenty of other AI startups targeting the customers with similar AI-focused software, as well as larger tech giants. Tong points to the depth of experience among his colleagues as a differentiator.
The company’s executive chairman is Paul Maritz, a legendary figure from Microsoft’s heyday who went on to lead VMware and other tech companies.
Other former Microsoft leaders working for TNE include Satoshi Nakajima, who was the lead architect of Windows 95 and 98; John McQueen, a former senior director for Kinect; Paul Davis, a program manager from 1984 to 1990; and Duncan Ledwith, who spent 14 years at the Redmond giant and was a director for Windows Mobile.
“We’re very lucky to have this Microsoft heritage,” Tong said.
Tong, Nakajima, McQueen, and Seattle tech vet Matthew Arksey are the company’s co-founders.
Tong didn’t reveal specific details on capital raised to date but said the company has reeled in “single-digit” millions. Pioneer Square Labs’ venture fund is an investor. The company has paying customers.
