Key Takeaways
Div Garg made a bold choice to turn down a nearly $1 million job offer from OpenAI in order to build his own AI startup, AGI Inc. He believed that founding a startup would offer him greater ownership and a more significant impact than working within a large AI company. AGI Inc is focused on developing a voice-driven AI assistant designed to function seamlessly on mobile devices—essentially, a “Siri that actually works.” This vision has resonated strongly with users, as evidenced by the 500,000 people who signed up for the waiting list within about three months.
His Beginnings
Div Garg’s journey in artificial intelligence spans nearly a decade, during which he contributed to pioneering projects at major technology companies such as Google, Apple, and Nvidia. His work involved advanced AI applications like self-driving cars and robotics, often under strict confidentiality. Following this industry experience, Garg pursued a PhD at Stanford University, focusing on reinforcement learning and agent development, accumulating over 3,000 academic citations and holding more than 10 patents. Despite this academic success, he ultimately chose to leave Stanford to launch his first company.
From MultiOn to AGI Inc.
Garg’s entrepreneurial journey began with MultiOn, a startup he led for two years that successfully raised over $30 million from notable venture capitalists, including Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC and investors with ties to OpenAI and DeepMind. Recently, he spun out a new research-focused lab from MultiOn, forming AGI Inc., which aims to develop trustworthy AI products with a strong research foundation.
His Startup’s Focus
AGI Inc. is dedicated to creating intelligent agents capable of running locally on users’ mobile devices. The startup’s vision is to bring a highly reliable personal assistant to every phone, enabling users to interact with their devices through natural language commands rather than manual app navigation. Garg envisions a future where phones become “appless,” performing tasks automatically via AI assistants.
Given that people spend approximately 80% of their time on digital devices, AGI Inc. seeks to automate mundane, repetitive digital tasks to free users to focus on what truly matters. Their core product is an AI assistant designed to operate phones seamlessly across any app, offering commands like “call me an Uber,” “book a dental appointment,” or “reply to my emails” through voice interaction. This approach has garnered significant interest, with the waitlist growing from 160,000 to around 500,000 users in just a few months.
Why He Turned Down OpenAI
When OpenAI extended a near-million-dollar job offer, Garg faced a crossroads: join a leading AI company or pursue his own vision through a startup. He opted for the latter, citing the greater autonomy, ownership, and potential for impact that startups provide. In large organizations, Garg noted, individuals often play limited roles solving pre-defined problems, whereas startups allow founders to approach challenges from first principles and innovate with fewer constraints.
Garg’s decision was reinforced by real user traction and community support. He conducted a Twitter poll with over 500 responses, most encouraging him to continue building AGI Inc. He emphasized that while jobs can be found later, startup opportunities are fleeting and must be seized when the timing and potential align.
Growth and Virality
AGI Inc.’s rapid growth to a 500,000-person waitlist stems from its clear value proposition and viral marketing strategies. The startup demonstrated compelling use cases that resonated with busy professionals seeking to automate everyday tasks, such as ordering lunch or managing workflows in Salesforce. These features, combined with referral programs and community sharing, helped the product go viral across multiple sectors and geographies.
Ingredients for Virality
According to Garg, virality depends first on building a truly useful and compelling product. Complementing this are engaging content and videos that explain the product’s benefits clearly, prompting excitement and adoption. When these elements align, organic growth becomes much more attainable.
Challenges Faced
Developing partnerships with large hardware manufacturers like Samsung and Lenovo has been challenging, requiring extensive demonstrations and advocacy to embed AGI’s technology into devices. Another significant obstacle is ensuring the reliability of AI agents, particularly for complex, multi-step tasks. Garg stresses the importance of consistent performance—if a user commands “Call me an Uber,” the AI must execute flawlessly every time.
AGI Inc. is already established on Android through partnerships with Samsung and is preparing to launch its first iOS product soon, signaling its goal to broaden device compatibility.
Competitive Edge and Revenue
AGI Inc. distinguishes itself as the only company delivering a live, voice-driven AI assistant capable of reliably operating phones across apps at this scale. While other companies explore adjacent AI applications, none have matched AGI’s level of functionality and user engagement on mobile devices.
The startup reported at least $1 million in revenue last year and projects a substantial increase to around $20 million this year. Achieving consistent monthly revenue took roughly six months, during which the team experimented extensively to identify features that generated real user value and willingness to pay.
Key paid features center on hands-free control scenarios, such as safely managing phone functions while driving or automating tasks where existing assistants like Siri fall short. AGI’s product aims to provide a far more reliable and versatile experience, likened by Garg to “Siri on steroids.”
When Things Go Wrong
Garg shared that while the AI performs well on workflows involving up to about 50 steps, more complex tasks with hundreds or thousands of steps sometimes lead to errors. Some users experienced issues when applying the AI to high-risk areas like online transactions or internal system operations, prompting complaints about mistakes affecting accounts or software.
In response, AGI Inc. clarified use-case boundaries and focused heavily on safety enhancements. Garg likens the evolution of their AI agents to the progression of Tesla’s Autopilot: initial imperfections gradually give way to reliable performance through continuous improvement.
He also highlights ongoing challenges, particularly in sensitive domains such as banking and finance, where security and accuracy are paramount to prevent unauthorized transactions or fraud.
Advice for Founders and Future Steps
Garg’s advice to entrepreneurs is to narrow their focus sharply. Instead of trying to solve a broad array of problems, founders should identify a core user base that truly desires their product and work relentlessly to retain those customers through an outstanding experience. Expanding scope should come only after establishing a strong foundation.
Customer retention hinges on delivering consistent value and maintaining engagement through regular feature updates and transparent communication, such as newsletters highlighting improvements and upcoming capabilities.
Looking forward, AGI Inc. aims to enhance personalization and proactivity in its AI assistant. The vision includes an assistant that anticipates user needs—suggesting restaurant reservations before dinner or automatically organizing travel itineraries—thereby reducing the need for explicit commands and creating a truly intelligent, context-aware companion.
For more insight into Div Garg’s journey and AGI Inc.’s innovative approach to AI, read the full interview Here.
