A former Google executive has raised $8 million in seed funding for Continua, a startup building AI-powered agents designed to streamline collaboration in group chat platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord. The round, led by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and First Round Capital, with participation from angel investors including ex-Google AI leaders and Slack’s former product chief, will fuel Continua’s mission to turn chaotic group chats into organized, action-driven workspaces—addressing a longstanding pain point for teams overwhelmed by unstructured messages, missed tasks, and scattered information.

Founded in 2024 by Maya Chen, who spent eight years at Google leading product teams for Google Workspace and AI-driven productivity tools, Continua aims to reimagine how teams collaborate in real time. Unlike generic AI chatbots that answer questions or generate text, Continua’s agents are built to participate in group conversations: they can summarize threads, flag action items, schedule meetings, and even follow up on pending tasks—all without requiring users to switch between apps. For example, if a team chats about launching a new product feature, Continua’s agent might auto-generate a to-do list (“Finalize design by Friday,” “Schedule demo with sales”), assign owners based on past contributions, and sync deadlines to the team’s calendar.

The Problem Continua Is Solving

Chen says the idea for Continua emerged from her experience at Google, where even high-performing teams struggled with “chat overload.” “We’d have 50-message threads about a project, and by the end, no one could remember who was supposed to do what—or if a decision was actually made,” she explained in an interview. “Tools like Slack and Teams are great for communication, but they’re terrible at turning conversations into action. Most teams spend 2–3 hours a week just organizing chat content—time they could use to build or innovate.”

Market research backs this up: a 2025 survey by workplace productivity firm Asana found that 68% of professionals cite “digging through group chats for information” as a top time-waster, and 45% have missed deadlines because a task was only mentioned in a chat thread, not a project management tool. Continua’s agents aim to bridge this gap by embedding productivity directly into the chat tools teams already use—no new software required.

How Continua’s AI Agents Work

Continua’s technology leverages a mix of large language models (LLMs) fine-tuned for workplace collaboration and proprietary “context awareness” algorithms. When integrated into a group chat, the agent first learns the team’s communication patterns: who leads which projects, how tasks are typically assigned, and what terms the team uses (e.g., “launch week” vs. “go-live date”). Over time, it adapts to the team’s workflow—for instance, a marketing team’s agent might prioritize social media deadlines, while an engineering team’s agent focuses on code review timelines.

Key features include:

• Smart Summaries: Automatically generates 1-paragraph recaps of long threads, highlighting decisions, action items, and unresolved questions.
• Action Item Tracking: Identifies tasks (e.g., “Can someone draft the press release?”) and prompts the team to assign owners and deadlines. It then sends reminders and flags overdue tasks in subsequent chats.
• Cross-App Sync: Integrates with tools like Google Calendar, Trello, and Notion to push tasks, deadlines, and notes directly into the team’s existing workflows.
• Contextual Help: Answers team-specific questions (e.g., “What was the budget for the Q3 campaign?”) by pulling information from past chats—no need to search through archives.

Early testers, including a 50-person SaaS startup and a marketing agency, report significant time savings. “Before Continua, our product team spent an hour every morning reading chat recaps,” said a product manager at the SaaS firm. “Now the agent sends a 2-sentence summary, and we jump straight into work. We’ve cut meeting prep time by 40%.”

Why Investors Are Betting on Continua

The $8 million seed round reflects growing investor interest in AI tools that solve specific, high-impact workplace problems—rather than “one-size-fits-all” AI assistants. a16z partner Sarah Kim, who led the investment, says Continua stands out because it targets a “clear, unmet need” in collaboration.

“Most AI productivity tools focus on individual work—writing emails, analyzing data, etc.,” Kim said. “But work is collaborative, and group chats are where a lot of critical work happens. Continua’s agents don’t replace human conversation—they make it more productive. That’s a huge opportunity, because no one else is building AI that’s integrated into how teams actually talk and work.”

First Round Capital’s Raj Patel added that Chen’s background at Google Workspace was a key factor in the firm’s decision to invest. “Maya built products used by billions of people—she understands what makes workplace tools stick,” he said. “Continua isn’t just a clever AI idea; it’s a tool that solves a problem she’s personally witnessed at scale. That’s the kind of founder-in-market fit we look for.”

What’s Next for Continua

With the new funding, Continua plans to expand its team (focusing on AI engineering and product design), launch a public beta in early 2026, and add support for more chat platforms (including WhatsApp Business and Zoom Chat). The startup also aims to refine its agent’s ability to handle complex workflows—like coordinating cross-department projects or managing client communications—by integrating with customer relationship management (CRM) tools like Salesforce.

Chen is cautious about overpromising, noting that Continua’s agents will evolve based on user feedback. “Our goal isn’t to replace human collaboration—it’s to make it easier for teams to do their best work,” she said. “If an agent can save a team 10 hours a week by organizing their chats, that’s 10 hours they can spend on creative, high-impact tasks. That’s the value we’re building.”

As remote and hybrid work continues to dominate the workplace, tools that streamline collaboration are becoming increasingly critical. For Continua, the $8 million seed round is just the start—with the potential to redefine how teams turn conversations into results.