Google veteran’s startup Continua raises $8M to bring “social AI” agents into group chats

August 12, 2025 — Continua, a New York–based startup founded by former Google distinguished engineer David Petrou, has raised an $8 million seed round to embed an AI agent directly inside group chats on SMS, iMessage, and Discord. The round was led by GV, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and a roster of angels.

What Continua does

Continua positions its product as “Social AI”: an agent that joins existing group threads and helps with coordination without forcing users into a new app. It can launch polls, set reminders, create calendar invites, and generate shared Google Docs and checklists from the ongoing conversation. Users can also DM the agent to retrieve details like location or timing from a chat history.

Getting started is simple: add Continua’s number/handle to a group and invoke it when needed; the agent can also be told to “hang back” if it speaks too often.

Why this matters

Group threads are messy, fast-moving, and multi-speaker—scenarios where standard assistants struggle. Continua says it fine-tuned models for group dynamics so the agent shows “social intelligence,” responding only when it can add value. TechCrunch reports the team built for multi-person dialogue from the start, not just one-on-one chat.

Backers and notable angels

The GV-led round includes Bessemer Venture Partners and angels such as Jeff Dean, Des Traynor, Peter Mattis, Spencer Kimball, Eyal Manor, Ben Sigelman, and others, according to the company’s announcement.

Security & roadmap

Continua says messages to and from the agent are encrypted. The company’s May update also points to a roadmap featuring long-term memory, proactivity, and broader action-taking.

Competitive context

Messaging platforms and startups are experimenting with AI in chats. Meta and others have introduced assistants, while smaller players (e.g., Hey Umai) target social contexts. Continua’s angle is restrained, task-oriented participation in multi-human threads, rather than freeform role-play.

Founder & origins

Petrou previously helped start Google Goggles and worked on Google Glass during 17+ years at Google. He left in 2023 to pursue the “LLM-in-the-group-chat” idea that avoids copy-pasting from separate assistant apps.

At a glance

• Company: Continua

• Funding: $8M seed (GV lead; Bessemer plus angels)

• Use case: AI agent inside SMS, iMessage, Discord for polls, reminders, invites, docs, and quick answers from thread context.

• Privacy: Encrypted messages; memory/proactivity on the roadmap.

• How to try: Add the agent’s number/handle to a group chat and invoke on demand.