A tiny Portland technology startup announced backing Friday from the investment fund led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Shelpful is a four-person Portland firm that aims to use artificial intelligence to help people manage their lives and pursue self-improvement projects. Apollo Projects, run by Altman and his two brothers, is investing $3 million to help Shelpful build out its technology and operations.
The investment isn’t large by the standards of technology startups but Altman’s involvement immediately raises the Portland company’s profile.
“We’re all about action and trying to help people do things,” said Sharon Pope, Shelpful’s co-founder and CEO.
Shelpful aims to help people manage daily tasks while taking time to look after themselves and pursue long-term goals, like learning a new language or getting in shape. It licenses OpenAI’s technology to provide regular reminders over the WhatsApp online messaging service.
For those who prefer a more personal touch, clients can supplement the AI service with feedback from a real person, called a Shelper, who can help sort out what’s going right and wrong in daily goals. Or clients can skip the artificial intelligence altogether and communicate exclusively with their Shelper, five days a week.
“There’s something special when a human is expecting something of you,” Pope said.
Shelpful starts at $35 per month for the artificial intelligence plan and goes up to $160 monthly for those who want coaching only from real people. The company has two employees in Portland, including Pope, plus one in San Francisco and one in California. Its Shelpers are independent contractors.
Altman has long been among the most prominent technologists in Silicon Valley but gained a national profile in the past year following the launch of OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence service. Shelpful licenses OpenAI’s technology for its own service.
Pope worked for Altman at his Loopt location sharing company and later at the Y Combinator startup incubator. She said he contacted her after hearing about Shelpful through another former colleague and inquired about investing.
“He texted me, said, Hey, do you want to catch up?” Pope said. She said she asked to defer his investment until the company had grown a bit and she wound down her work at another company.
Shelpful plans to build its own app, Pope said, so it doesn’t have to rely on WhatsApp to connect with its clients. And she said the company hopes to work with physical therapists and other specialists who might want to use Shelpful’s service to help their own clients keep up with their goals.
“We see an opportunity to be that follow-up structure for any pursuit you’re trying to stick with,” Pope said.
— Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com |
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