Mayer's AI Leap: Ex-Yahoo CEO Launches New Venture

Marissa Mayer, the former CEO of Yahoo, is launching a new venture named Dazzle, focused on creating next-generation AI personal assistants. This move follows the dissolution of her previous startup, Sunshine, which faced limited success. Dazzle has successfully secured $8 million in seed funding, with a valuation of $35 million. The funding round was spearheaded by Kirsten Green of Forerunner, signaling strong confidence in Mayer's vision for consumer-facing AI.

Mayer's previous company, Sunshine, originally launched as Lumi Labs in 2018 and struggled to gain traction with its contact management and photo-sharing AI tools. Despite raising $20 million, the product faced criticism for privacy concerns and design issues. However, the lessons learned from Sunshine's challenges are expected to inform Dazzle's strategy and development.

Dazzle is anticipated to emerge from stealth mode early in the upcoming year. Mayer, who also played a pivotal role at Google, aims to replicate the world-changing impact she had with products like Google Search and Maps. The new startup's website, dazzle.ai, is currently password-protected, awaiting its public debut.