Velocity-based startup Setori has closed a $1M USD pre-seed funding round to further its building of an artificial intelligence (AI) companion named Tori that improves focus and guards against procrastination.
Founded in 2022 by Waterloo Engineering alumni Logan Jeya and Marc Simard (both BASc ’14, systems design engineering), the startup is currently staffed solely by University of Waterloo co-ops and graduates.
Jeya and Simard launched the company after nearly a decade of working at various tech companies, including Microsoft, Uber and McKinsey & Company. During those years, they became increasingly concerned with how the battle for attention and decreased procrastination could hinder Gen Z and younger generations' professional and personal abilities.
“We are helping younger generations reduce procrastination and putting things off, which is a common, anxiety-inducing problem,” said Jeya, CEO of Setori. “Major tech companies are spending big dollars and hiring staff specifically to get people to stop doing what they are doing and spend time on various online platforms. It’s going to get worse. The growth of this problem will be exponential.”
Setori customers download the Tori browser extension and set up their individual goals. Tori tracks how users spend their time online, and users can proactively set up stretches of times for deep focus and divert attention from specific websites. As users achieve their goals, their Tori companion grows and evolves.
“We have to adapt to this new reality, and we believe the only way to win this fight for attention is AI like ours and helping people figure out what they need to focus on to reach their goal,” said Simard.
Go to Big tech wants your attention. Not on Setori’s watch for the full story.