Smartphones are often overwhelming due to numerous apps and endless notifications. A new app, Poppy, seeks to simplify this by merging your calendar, email, messages, and other services into one dashboard.
According to the company, “Poppy pays attention so you don’t have to.”
Users can link various services with Poppy, such as email and calendars, as well as their location. Poppy analyzes this data with AI to highlight what matters most at the moment. This allows users to quickly check meetings or tasks through the app or its widgets.
Poppy’s standout feature is its proactive suggestions.
For example, if you have a break near a park, Poppy might suggest a walk. If planning brunch with a friend who has specific dietary preferences, Poppy could recommend suitable restaurants.
You can also communicate with Poppy as though it were a personal assistant, receiving alerts about flight changes or medication reminders.
Poppy’s creator, Sai Kambampati, who has a Master’s in Computer Science focusing on human-computer interaction, was previously a software engineer at AI hardware startup Humane.
“I’ve always been intrigued by pushing computing capabilities, especially ambient and anticipatory computing,” Kambampati told TechCrunch. “With today’s AI advancements, this project is more feasible than ever.”
Initially, Poppy integrates with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Gmail, Outlook, iCloud Mail, Apple Health, Reminders, Contacts, iMessage, WhatsApp, and more. (Access to iMessage requires a Mac app, which could be problematic as Apple typically restricts third-party access.) It also connects with apps like Uber and Instacart, with plans to increase compatibility.
User data is encrypted in Poppy’s database, with a zero-retention policy for cloud-based suggestions. However, Kambampati aims to transition to local, on-device AI models as technology evolves.
“My vision is that in the next couple of years, as devices gain processing power and models shrink, everything can run locally without server reliance,” he says.
Poppy’s San Francisco-based team of four has raised $1.25 million in pre-seed funding led by Kindred Ventures, with participation from angels including DeepMind’s Logan Kilpatrick.