Rabbit inc.

Rabbit inc. is an artificial intelligence (AI) startup developing an operating system (OS) with a natural language interface and consumer hardware. The OS, called rabbit OS, is based on the Large Action Model (LAM), a foundation model from rabbit that aims to understand human intention when using computers. The company states rabbit OS can operate user interfaces and perform actions on the user's behalf. The company's consumer hardware product powered by rabbit OS is the R1 pocket companion. R1 is a custom-built consumer AI device that provides an app-free online experience.

Rabbit is a rebranding of Cyber Manufacture Co., founded by Jesse Lyu (CEO) and Peiyuan Liao (CTO). Lyu holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Liverpool. He is a two-time Y Combinator alumnus and previously founded Raven Tech, a startup developing conversational AI operating systems that was acquired by Baidu. Liao was previously a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University and led machine learning engineering at Praxis Pioneering. The company is based in Santa Monica, California. As of October 2023, rabbit had a team of nine people working out of Lyu's house.

Lyu described the mission of rabbit as:

The advancements in generative AI have ignited a wide range of initiatives within the technology industry to define and establish the next level of human-machine interaction... Our perspective is that the ultimate determinant of success lies in delivering an exceptional end-user experience. Drawing upon our past endeavors and experiences, we’ve realized that revolutionizing the user experience necessitates a bespoke and dedicated platform and device. This fundamental principle underpins the current product and technical stack chosen by rabbit.

Rabbit has raised $30 million in funding, including $20 million from Khosla Ventures, Synergis Capital, and Kakao Investment announced on October 4, 2023, and a $10 million series A round again from Khosla Ventures announced on December 21, 2023. After the $20 million investment, sources stated rabbit was valued between $100 million and $150 million.

LAM was first introduced on October 4, 2023. The foundation model aims to understand and act upon human intentions. Unlike AI chatbots, LAM can accomplish tasks without using bespoke integrations, such as APIs. The model is designed to act on consumer applications, enabling users to accomplish tasks such as booking tickets and ordering groceries from start to finish, interacting with apps in the same way humans do. LAM learns by demonstration, observing a human using an interface in order to replicate the process.

LAM can infer and model human actions on computer applications, performing the actions. It is deployable for various AI assistants and operating systems. The model is enabled by recent advances in neuro-symbolic programming. LAM allows for the direct modeling of the structure of various applications and user actions performed on them without a transitory representation, such as text.

Rabbit OS is based on LAM. The operating system aims to add value to users’ online lives with “rabbits”—personal AI agents capable of carrying out various tasks. Rabbit OS can handle tasks from searching for up-to-date information to more complex tasks, such as thoroughly researching and booking options for upcoming travel or filling a virtual grocery store cart and completing transactions at check-out. At its launch, rabbit OS was trained to work with the most popular apps, and the company plans to add capabilities for more niche apps and workflows.

Users can interact with rabbit OS with their voice. The operating system uses its long-term memory to translate requests into actionable steps and responses that LAM leverages in real-time. LAM understands how users interact with applications and services rather than relying on APIs. With training across popular interfaces and consumer applications, the model completes tasks in the same way humans do. LAM completes tasks on virtual environments in rabbit's cloud. Users do not need to install an app or type code into a command line. Rabbit OS carries out tasks based on voice commands.

Users can relay access to their existing apps to rabbit OS using a web portal called "rabbit hole." Users can enable different features and functionalities, and rabbit OS performs tasks using these apps with permissions without storing passwords or identity information. The operating system does not create proxy accounts or require additional subscriptions from existing services.

rabbit launched the R1 pocket companion at CES on January 9, 2024. The R1 is a custom-built consumer AI device running on rabbit OS that is designed to navigate the user's apps for them to offer an "app-free online experience." rabbit opened pre-sales upon the launch on January 9, 2024, stating that shipments will begin in late March 2024 for US customers. The R1 costs $199 without any subscription costs. This price does not include taxes, shipping fees, or duties for international orders. rabbit stated that shipping to non-US addresses and fulfillment of pre-orders will begin later in 2024. The company is accepting pre-orders from the following countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, certain countries of the European Union (Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden), South Korea, and Japan.

Image of the rabbit t1 pocket companion.

The R1 was made in collaboration with design firm Teenage Engineering. It features a push-to-talk button, a far-field mic, a 360° rotational camera, an analog scroll wheel, and a USB-C and SIM card slot. It is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery that can be charged with a USB-C cable and power adapter (no accessories included with purchase). The battery life of R1 depends on many factors, including usage and external environment.

Rabbit describes the R1 as "a standalone hardware portal to cut through distractions and help users handle their everyday digital tasks smarter, more efficiently, and more delightfully." It weighs 115 grams and is roughly the size of a stack of Post-It notes. It is available in an orange package with a 2.88-inch touchscreen display. The R1 has both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity options. It contains a 2.3 GHz MediaTek Helio P35 processor and has 4 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage.

During the launch of the R1, rabbit founder and CEO Jesse Lyu stated:

Today is the beginning of a new era in human-machine interaction... We’ve come to a point where we have hundreds of apps on our smartphones with complicated UX designs that don’t talk to each other. As a result, end users are frustrated with their devices and are often getting lost. rabbit is now building towards an intuitive app-free experience with the power of AI. Large Language Models, like ChatGPT, showed the possibility of understanding natural language with AI; our Large Action Model takes it one step further: it doesn’t just generate text in response to human input – it generates actions on behalf of users to help us get things done.

Cyber Manufacture Co., Transcending culture. Enhancing the human experience of art, fashion, & technology by uniting the physical & digital world.

Cyber Manufacture Co. the narrative-based Web3 platform behind the next generation NFT project GAMA.