The main leaders of Google NotebookLM are leaving the company to start their own startup.
Key members of Google’s NotebookLM team are leaving the company to start a new startup, and they have shared some exclusive details.
Three members of Google’s NotebookLM team, including their leader and a designer, have decided to leave the company to embark on a new stealth startup. Raiza Martin, the former team leader, shared on LinkedIn that, along with her co-founding teammates, designer Jason Spielman and engineer Stephen Hughes, they feel there is a significant opportunity to create something transformative in this field.
The new company is in an early, low-profile stage, with a very basic website that does not provide details about its purpose or name. It is unclear whether the startup will focus on the areas where NotebookLM excelled, such as AI-generated podcasts and AI-assisted note-taking, or if it will explore a completely different approach.
In statements to a media outlet, Martin provided few details but hinted that the startup will have a consumer-focused approach. She emphasized that their goal is to develop something that leverages the latest artificial intelligence models to create something useful for everyday people. “As cutting-edge models and their capabilities continue to grow, there is a need for thoughtfully designed products that make the benefits of this technology accessible, useful, and evident to ordinary people,” she mentioned, adding that her team will focus on creating a user-centered AI product.
Martin also noted that the new initiative is in its early stages and has not yet announced any funding rounds. However, she highlighted that the support received outside of Google, from founders, investors, academics, and people interested in joining, has been extraordinary and very encouraging for their small team.
