IrisGo raises $2.8 million to build AI desktop automation tools

IrisGo, a startup building software to automate computer tasks, has closed a $2.8 million seed round to develop a desktop companion that can learn and automate daily workflows. The funding round was led by AI Fund, the venture capital firm founded by Andrew Ng. Lai managed to set up a meeting with Ng through a shared connection, as both are alumni of Carnegie Mellon University. After Lai and his co-founder demonstrated the software during that meeting, Ng’s AI Fund agreed to lead the seed round.

Investors in the startup include:

• AI Fund
• Nvidia
• Google

The software is designed to run on PCs, observing how a user performs a task once and then repeating those steps automatically without requiring ongoing prompts. During a demonstration, the system recorded the steps to order a coffee from Philz Coffee, a popular Bay Area chain, including selecting a latte, filling out credit card information, and completing the purchase. When asked to repeat the order on its own, the agent completed the task. Beyond ordering coffee, the system is built to automate business-related tasks by learning from a user’s desktop behavior and automatically adding those tasks to its action items. The application also includes a coding assistant designed to assist developers as they work.

To address security concerns, IrisGo is designed to process data on-device for privacy. The system uses a hybrid architecture where complex tasks are processed through the cloud. However, the company states that cloud processing “only occurs when explicitly authorized by the user and uses end-to-end encryption.” To distribute the software, IrisGo has struck a deal with Acer to preinstall the application on new devices. The company has also launched beta versions of its macOS and Windows applications.

The startup was co-founded by Jeffrey Lai, a former Apple engineer who previously worked on Siri. Lai explained that the platform is built to handle routine office tasks. “Our target audience is knowledge workers — white-collar companies. There’s a lot of repetitive tasks that those workers do every day,” Lai said. By automating these background clerical tasks, the company aims to allow employees to focus on higher-level conceptual work.

Why it matters

IrisGo represents the growing trend of agentic systems moving beyond simple chatbots to active desktop automation, aiming to solve the “manual” nature of modern office work through hybrid, privacy-focused architecture.