Zylon Unveils Innovative Solutions to Alleviate Generative AI Adoption Challenges for SMBs

The generative AI era commenced its second full year in November 2023, yet many enterprises are still navigating how to effectively implement this technology and identify suitable models and applications.

For businesses, particularly those outside Silicon Valley, Zylon has emerged as a key player, providing a straightforward path to harness generative AI without requiring technical expertise.

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Founded remotely in Madrid, Spain, Zylon has announced a $3.2 million pre-seed funding round, exclusively via media channels. Their enterprise-grade, user-friendly generative AI web workspace is now publicly available. The funding round was led by Felicis Ventures, with participation from LifeX Ventures, Zypsy, and strategic angels including Travis McPeak, Kirill Tashilov, and Hans-Christian Zappel.

Founding Principles

Zylon was co-founded in 2023 by Iván Martínez Toro and Daniel Gallego Vico, who previously launched PrivateGPT, an open-source initiative that enables users to explore generative AI without tracking. The project has attracted over 46,000 enthusiasts on GitHub. With Zylon, their goal is to create a fully private generative AI workspace for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that do not have in-house software development capabilities.

“We are focusing on an often-overlooked audience—non-tech professionals in small and medium-sized firms,” Gallego Vico stated during a media call.

Zylon features a modular, customizable web interface powered by fine-tuned open-source models, including Meta’s Llama 2 and Mistral’s Mixtral. This design allows non-technical users to upload documents, such as invoices or transcripts, and to seamlessly execute tasks by clicking pre-defined buttons.

The virtual workspace enables users to leverage generative AI efficiently, maintaining high standards of privacy and security while optimizing performance. Zylon is already collaborating with clients across various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and legal.

“There are common workflows and use cases across industries,” Martínez Toro explained. “SMBs often require support for tasks that existing tools haven't addressed, such as generating structured reports or assisting in data extraction and decision-making.” The feedback from these customers reflects a significant value in their services.

A Foundation in Open Source AI

Zylon builds on the foundation laid by PrivateGPT, focusing on user privacy and the specific needs of non-technical users in the generative AI landscape.

During their work on PrivateGPT, the founders recognized that privacy was a critical issue, but user experience presented an additional significant barrier to adoption. “End users struggled to interact with AI effectively,” Martínez Toro elaborated.

Zylon’s framework contrasts with the “magic button” approach used by many AI products, where users submit queries with uncertain outcomes. Instead, Zylon offers a structured canvas that clearly outlines available actions, enhancing the user experience for non-technical SMBs and enterprises.

Simplifying Generative AI Adoption

As CEO, Martínez Toro draws from his extensive experience as CTO of Ontruck, where he applied AI and machine learning to optimize SaaS processes. Co-founder and CTO Gallego Vico brings a strong software development background, complemented by his previous role at Amazon. Together, they have created a user-centric tool designed to simplify the complexities of generative AI.

Zylon prioritizes a seamless user experience, allowing companies to engage with generative AI in a straightforward manner, supporting tasks such as data querying, summarization, and report generation with minimal inputs.

Secure and Supported

Zylon's vision has attracted support from industry experts and investors alike. Viviana Faga, General Partner at Felicis, has expressed confidence in the founders and envisions Zylon as a pivotal player in the growth of the AI ecosystem.

The platform fosters teamwork and creativity through collaborative projects within a secure, SOC2-certified environment. As Zylon progresses, its closed beta allows early adopters to engage with and contribute to the evolution of generative AI in the workplace.

Zylon is committed to evolving alongside its users, ensuring that the generative AI revolution remains accessible and aligned with the real-world needs of diverse businesses.