Sigil Wen launched Underdog, an on-device AI assistant. It runs entirely on a user’s Mac or Windows PC. Linux, iPhone and Android versions are coming soon. The app uses a 27-billion-parameter model fine-tuned from Qwen3.8. Wen says it matches older top models on everyday tasks. Underdog encrypts keys for accounts it accesses. It will be free at first and never ad-supported. The startup will take a cut of payment transactions made via Stripe. Conway Research is the company behind Underdog. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and Patrick Collison.
What changed
Most AI assistants run in the cloud and collect user data for training or ads.
What it unlocks
Running an AI assistant on your own device without sharing data with a provider.
- 27 billion parameters
- free at launch
- tiny percentage of payment transactions
What you need to act on it
- a Mac or Windows PC
- an invite to the beta
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