Imagine your computer running itself, completing tasks with minimal input from you—sounds like science fiction, right? But that’s exactly what Simular’s AI agent aims to do, and it’s already turning heads in the tech world. This ambitious startup, focused on building AI agents for Mac OS and Windows, has just secured a whopping $21.5 million in Series A funding, led by Felicis and joined by heavyweights like NVentures (Nvidia’s venture arm) and South Park Commons.
What sets Simular apart? Unlike other AI startups that focus on controlling web browsers, Simular’s AI agent targets the entire PC or Mac experience. This means it can mimic human actions like moving a mouse, clicking, or even copying and pasting data into a spreadsheet—all autonomously. As co-founder and CEO Ang Li explained to TechCrunch, ‘It’s more capable of repeating whatever human activities exist in the digital world.’
Here’s where it gets exciting: Simular recently launched its 1.0 version for Mac OS and is already collaborating with Microsoft to develop a Windows agent. In fact, Simular is one of just five companies accepted into Microsoft’s exclusive Windows 365 for Agents program, alongside Manus AI, Fellou, Genspark, and TinyFish. While Li hasn’t revealed a timeline for the Windows version, he’s confident it’ll be as popular—if not more—than its Mac counterpart.
But here’s where it gets controversial: Simular’s approach to AI isn’t just about automation; it’s about blending creativity with reliability. One of the biggest challenges in AI today is hallucination—when large language models (LLMs) generate incorrect or nonsensical outputs. For agentic AI, which often involves thousands of discrete steps, a single hallucination can derail an entire task. Simular’s solution? A unique hybrid system called ‘neuro-symbolic computer use agents.’
Instead of relying solely on LLMs, Simular’s agent iterates freely on a task, with the human user guiding it until success. Once the task is perfected, the workflow is locked in as deterministic code—meaning it’s repeatable and reliable. ‘Let agents keep exploring the successful trajectory,’ Li explains. ‘Once you find it, that becomes deterministic code.’
And this is the part most people miss: By putting this deterministic code in the hands of the end user, Simular empowers users to trust, inspect, and audit the AI’s actions. It’s a game-changer for industries like car dealerships automating VIN searches or HOAs extracting data from PDFs—two examples of Simular’s early beta customers.
Simular’s open-source project (currently available for Mac OS) has already inspired automations in content creation, sales, and marketing. With a total funding of $27 million, including a previous $5 million seed round, Simular is backed by investors like Basis Set Ventures, Flying Fish Partners, Samsung NEXT, and even podcaster Lenny Rachitsky.
But the big question remains: Will Simular’s approach revolutionize how we interact with our computers, or is it too good to be true? Time will tell, but one thing’s for sure—this startup is one to watch. What do you think? Is Simular’s vision of AI-driven automation the future, or are there pitfalls we’re not seeing? Let’s discuss in the comments!
