5 startups that caught VCs’ attention at the latest PearX demo day
5 startups that caught VCs’ attention at the latest PearX demo day
在最新一届 PearX 路演日上备受风投关注的 5 家初创公司
There isn’t a shortage of accelerators for startups, but one of the few that investors watch closely is PearX, a 12-week program that caps its cohorts at a mere 20 startups and is run by Pear VC, a pre-seed and seed-focused venture firm. 初创公司加速器并不稀缺，但投资者密切关注的少数几个加速器之一是 PearX。这是一个为期 12 周的项目，由专注于种子前（pre-seed）和种子轮投资的风投机构 Pear VC 运营，每期仅限 20 家初创公司参加。
PearX’s biannual demo day is consistently attended by top venture capitalists, reflecting the historically strong caliber of companies in each batch. Some of the startups that came out of recent cohorts include Known, which uses voice AI to match people for dates and secured funding from Forerunner Ventures. Another is Andera, a startup that automates corporate audit and compliance tasks and raised a $37 million Series A from Lightspeed this summer. PearX 的半年一度的路演日总是吸引顶级风投人士参加，这反映了该项目历届入选公司的高水准。近期从该项目毕业的初创公司包括：利用语音 AI 进行约会匹配并获得 Forerunner Ventures 投资的 Known；以及今年夏天从 Lightspeed 筹集了 3700 万美元 A 轮融资、致力于自动化企业审计和合规任务的 Andera。
The PearX program distinguishes itself from Y Combinator, the OG of startup accelerators, in several ways. Besides being much smaller, it doesn’t offer companies standard terms. Its investments can be as high as $2 million. Moreover, unlike YC, where some of the buzziest startups raise funding before the program ends, PearX claims to keep its participants under wraps until demo day. PearX 项目在多个方面与初创加速器的鼻祖 Y Combinator（YC）有所不同。除了规模小得多之外，它不向公司提供标准条款，投资额最高可达 200 万美元。此外，与 YC 不同（YC 中一些热门初创公司在项目结束前就会完成融资），PearX 声称在路演日之前会对其参与者保持保密。
TechCrunch attended Pear’s latest demo day, which took place in San Francisco last week, and then stuck around to ask some of the VCs about which companies stood out to them out of the 16 startups in the batch. Below are five of the companies that seemed to have generated the most buzz. TechCrunch 参加了上周在旧金山举行的 Pear 最新路演日，并询问了一些风投人士，在这一批 16 家初创公司中，哪些公司让他们印象深刻。以下是其中 5 家似乎引起了最大轰动的公司。
Speridlabs
What it does: Spatial foundational models for powering robotics, gaming, and special effects. 它做什么： 用于驱动机器人、游戏和特效的空间基础模型。
Why it stood out: While Speridlabs is certainly not the only startup developing world models to do for 3D space what LLMs did for language, it argues that its more established competitors, including Runway, Odyssey, and Google’s Genie, cannot be queried or modified. To solve this, Speridlabs built Mundus, which it calls a 3D Midjourney because it keeps its geometry persistent when a part is changed. 为何脱颖而出： 虽然 Speridlabs 肯定不是唯一一家开发“世界模型”的初创公司（旨在为 3D 空间实现大语言模型对语言所做的事情），但它认为其更成熟的竞争对手（包括 Runway、Odyssey 和 Google 的 Genie）无法被查询或修改。为了解决这个问题，Speridlabs 构建了 Mundus，它将其称为“3D 版 Midjourney”，因为它在更改某个部分时能保持几何结构的持久性。
Saia
What it does: Builds a fast, cost-efficient chip that runs inference directly on device. 它做什么： 构建一种快速、经济高效的芯片，可直接在设备上运行推理。
Why it stood out: Nvidia’s GPUs and Google’s TPUs require expensive, power-hungry memory that is currently in short supply. Saia claims to have designed a chip that bypasses traditional memory by running AI directly out of flash storage. The startup claims its chip delivers vastly superior speeds and eight times the capacity while using four times less power than Nvidia’s Jetson, a leading local AI chip and board. Saia says it’s already in discussions with Samsung regarding memory integration, plans to start fabricating test chips next year, and aims to launch mass production by 2028. Developing hardware is notoriously brutal, but 20-year-old founder Ayaan Govil managed to convince Pear VC co-founder Mar Hershenson, a semiconductor engineer with a PhD in circuit design, to take a chance on his vision. 为何脱颖而出： 英伟达的 GPU 和谷歌的 TPU 需要昂贵且耗电的内存，而目前这些内存供应短缺。Saia 声称设计出了一种芯片，通过直接从闪存运行 AI 来绕过传统内存。该初创公司称，与领先的本地 AI 芯片和板卡 Nvidia Jetson 相比，其芯片在功耗降低四分之三的情况下，速度大幅提升且容量达到八倍。Saia 表示，已在与三星商讨内存集成事宜，计划明年开始制造测试芯片，并目标在 2028 年实现量产。开发硬件极其艰难，但 20 岁的创始人 Ayaan Govil 成功说服了 Pear VC 联合创始人、拥有电路设计博士学位的半导体工程师 Mar Hershenson，让他愿意为自己的愿景冒险。
Ren
What it does: A more secure AI personal assistant. 它做什么： 一款更安全的 AI 个人助理。
Why it stood out: Ren claims to offer functionality similar to Muse and Instinct, but with a heavy focus on security and privacy. The startup says it keeps data on-device where possible or uses a secure private cloud, checking actions against strict user-set guardrails. Furthermore, Ren distinguishes itself from competitors that rely on human operators to place phone calls by using a fully automated voice system, keeping human involvement entirely out of the loop to protect user privacy. 为何脱颖而出： Ren 声称提供与 Muse 和 Instinct 类似的功能，但高度关注安全和隐私。该初创公司表示，尽可能将数据保留在设备上或使用安全的私有云，并根据用户设置的严格护栏检查操作。此外，Ren 与那些依赖人工操作员拨打电话的竞争对手不同，它使用全自动语音系统，完全排除了人工干预，以保护用户隐私。
Veros
What it does: AI native trust and estate planner. 它做什么： AI 原生信托和遗产规划师。
Why it stood out: Setting up a trust is expensive and time-consuming. Veros wants to simplify the work normally done by attorneys, wealth managers, and trust administrators by employing AI to recommend structures and manage assets over their lifetime. Already managing $250 million in AUM, the startup is also in the process of securing a trust charter so it can operate as a regulated trust company itself. 为何脱颖而出： 设立信托既昂贵又耗时。Veros 希望通过利用 AI 来推荐结构并管理资产的整个生命周期，从而简化通常由律师、财富管理师和信托管理人完成的工作。该初创公司目前管理的资产规模（AUM）已达 2.5 亿美元，并且正在申请信托牌照，以便能够作为受监管的信托公司独立运营。
Datum
What it does: AI engineer for industrial design. 它做什么： 工业设计的 AI 工程师。
Why it stood out: Datum wants to expedite physical product development by helping engineers find and use what they built previously. The startup indexes a company’s library of 3D designs. Using proprietary Geometric Fingerprint technology, Datum identifies parts based on their shape, helping streamline and automate engineering across a massive physical design market. 为何脱颖而出： Datum 希望通过帮助工程师查找和使用他们之前构建的内容来加快实体产品开发。该初创公司对公司的 3D 设计库进行索引。利用专有的“几何指纹”（Geometric Fingerprint）技术，Datum 可以根据形状识别零件，从而帮助简化和自动化庞大的物理设计市场的工程流程。