Zeta Labs Debuts JACE, a Unique Action-oriented AI Assistant

Highlights:

• Zeta Labs highlighted JACE’s impressive versatility, noting its ability to establish a fully operational company independently.
• The team asserts that JACE can replicate a “significant portion” of everyday office tasks. To substantiate this claim, it underwent various benchmark tests centered on typical web-based activities.

Recently, Zeta AI Inc., also known as Zeta Labs, has debuted JACE. Also, it announced the closure of a USD 2.9 million pre-seed funding round to expedite the development of JACE.

The latest funding round was spearheaded by Daniel Gross, formerly Head of AI at Y Combinator, and Nat Friedman, previously CEO of GitHub Inc. Earlybird VC, Kaya VC, and several angel investors also joined the round.

Zeta Labs unveiled the funding round coinciding with the launch of its “revolutionary” digital assistant JACE, which is seen by many as the next leap in AI agents. It surpasses the abilities of current chatbots like ChatGPT by performing tasks beyond text generation.

Instead, its focus lies in taking proactive steps, being capable of using a web browser like a human, and performing diverse online tasks. From searching for apartments to grocery shopping or even registering a company, Zeta Labs asserts that JACE can handle it all.

The startup claims that JACE achieves this capability through its advanced cognitive architecture, which surpasses traditional chatbots. Its unique strength lies in its comprehensive control over the web browser, enabling it to execute tasks just like a human user. This proficiency is enabled by training JACE with Zeta Labs’ proprietary large language model for web interactions, known as Autonomous Web Agent-1 (AWA-1).

Peter Albert, Co-founder of Zeta Labs, expressed the company’s goal of empowering AI models to engage effectively within the digital environment they inhabit.

“The development of our AWA-1 model allows JACE the ability to control a browser, essentially giving the AI assistant the digital equivalent of arms and legs. You can’t ask any current chatbot on the market to book a trip, pay an invoice or set up a job post. With JACE, you can,” he explained.

While newer AI agents like Cognition’s Devin have garnered attention for tasks such as coding, JACE stands out by operating autonomously without needing any supervision. This means users don’t need to be physically present at a computer to monitor its activities while it completes tasks on their behalf. They instruct it on what needs to be done.

Zeta Labs highlighted JACE’s remarkable versatility, showcasing its ability to establish a complete company autonomously. Starting with a basic prompt, the agent developed a business plan for a math tutoring company, completed its official registration, secured its initial client, and began generating revenue—all accomplished within just one week.

According to the team, JACE can replicate a “significant portion” of daily office tasks. To validate this claim, benchmark tests were performed on the website, involving typical web-based activities like ordering pizza and locating two apartments in London based on specific requirements. The results were notable, achieving an 89% success rate in task completion, surpassing GPT-4o’s 68% success rate.

Albert shared that his inspiration for creating JACE stemmed from his initial foray into e-commerce eight years ago. During that time, he observed how much time his team dedicated to repetitive and mundane tasks. He envisioned automating these processes to free up his team for more engaging and creative endeavors. JACE represents the realization of that aspiration.

Fryderyk Wiatrowski, Zeta Labs’ other Co-founder, characterizes JACE as a “meta-aggregator” for web interfaces. He said, “Why learn to navigate all the different user interfaces when you can have a universal UI for everything? With JACE, you simply say what you need, and if you forget, it will ask you all the necessary questions up front. Imagine a universal service desk with a consultant who knows you personally and never needs to sleep. JACE will be that for you, just sitting there, ready to serve you at all times.”

Lead investor Gross commented that the web browser, a technology invented 34 years ago, remains underutilized by today’s AI models. He said, “The next paradigm shift in AI is unlocking that behavior, and Zeta Labs is poised to make that happen.”

Zeta Labs announced it is currently collaborating with early partners and intends to enhance JACE’s capabilities using funds from the latest funding round. The company plans to improve the AI’s speed and reliability while expanding its ability to tackle increasingly complex tasks relevant to consumers and businesses. To achieve this, Zeta Labs is developing an upgraded version of the AWA model, which will be larger, faster, and more adept at tasks involving visual recognition, such as interacting with maps.

In the future, Zeta Labs aims to bring JACE to market as a virtual assistant tailored for businesses seeking automation of repetitive, web-based tasks in areas like e-commerce, marketing, sales, and recruitment. Additionally, they plan to launch a consumer version, initially offering a free plan with messaging limits per month. For unlimited access, the startup intends to introduce a subscription service priced around USD 10 per month.