Simular, a San Francisco-based startup, has set out to reshape how we interact with our computers. Their AI agent, designed to manage tasks directly on your Mac or Windows PC, has caught the attention of both the tech world and investors, culminating in $21.5 million raised in Series A funding led by Felicis Ventures. Let's unpack why Simular's approach might change how we think about work, and what lessons female entrepreneurs, particularly in Europe, can draw from this bold move.
Simular's Unique Approach to Task Automation
Unlike many AI-driven tools that center around browser-based assistance, Simular goes further by controlling the entire operating system. This includes simulating human interactions like moving the mouse and clicking, allowing the agent to perform end-to-end workflows. Think of tasks like inputting data into spreadsheets, extracting PDF information, or automating marketing operations without touching a single button yourself.
One standout advantage? Their system solves the so-called "hallucination" problem plaguing most AI systems, where outputs can sometimes veer wildly off-course. Simular's method uses a trial-and-error cycle to learn tasks, locking in successful ones into deterministic code for future reliability. This combination of creativity and predictability could be game-changing for businesses relying on repeatable processes.
But what does this mean for entrepreneurs? As a founder immersed in gamified startup learning, I can't help but see parallels between Simular's approach and what founders need: frameworks that balance exploration with precision. Building processes unique to your venture requires both testing boundaries and eventual standardization, something this AI handles particularly well.
Lessons for Female Entrepreneurs
Simular's journey offers valuable insights that can inspire women entrepreneurs across Europe:
1. Differentiate Yourself in Crowded Markets
Simular isn't just another automation company, they’ve identified a gap by expanding AI capabilities from browsers to full-system functionality. As a founder, ask yourself: where does your solution break expectations? How can you turn limitations into opportunities?
2. Focus on Practical Solutions
Rather than designing something flashy or overly conceptual, the team at Simular addressed workplace pain points head-on. Female founders, particularly those bootstrapping, can gain a lot by prioritizing practical value and designing products that solve clear, pressing problems.
3. Leverage Open Source and Collaboration
Currently, Simular's tech is available as an open-source project, engaging the developer community for feedback and iteration. This collaborative mindset is something women founders can replicate. Communities, especially those focused on shared principles, like women in STEM or sustainability, can amplify your brand and validate your product.
4. Strategic Funding Partnerships
Securing over $21 million from respected names like NVIDIA (through NVentures) and angel investors like Lenny Rachitsky shows the importance of alliances. Female entrepreneurs can increase their credibility by forging smart partnerships with established players in their industry. Add government grants or European accelerators, and your funding mix becomes even more robust.
Common Challenges that Stand in the Way
Though systems like Simular are inspiring, they underline everyday challenges entrepreneurs face. Here’s how to avoid some missteps while growing your own idea:
- Over-complicating Solutions: Remember, simplicity is key. Even with advanced AI like Simular, the team focused on making it functional for repetitive but essential tasks. Overloading your product can dilute its core strength.
- Ignoring User Feedback: Many entrepreneurs rush to market without fully piloting their solution. Simular opened their tech to public testing early, which fueled trust and better usability. Make sure you actively test and refine through real-world scenarios.
- Underestimating Long-term Adoption: Yes, funding and launches matter, but so does maintenance. AI tools that automate human tasks reduce friction, but you'll need trust from your users for lasting adoption. Build transparency into your communications and systems.
Empowering Your Startup with AI
If you're thinking about introducing AI in your venture, here's a straightforward guide to get started:
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Identify Areas of Friction: Where do your processes slow down? List tasks that could benefit from consistency or automation. Think repetitive manual inputs, organizing data, or simple interactions.
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Experiment with Open-source Options: Platforms like GitHub offer frameworks to build and test prototypes without high costs. For example, Simular's Agent-S project lets users experience how agents can autonomously complete multi-step tasks.
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Consider Partnerships Early: Whether through accelerators like Yes!Delft or groups like EU Startups, many ecosystems across Europe welcome AI-powered ventures, particularly those led by diverse teams.
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Emphasize Ethics: Automation raises questions about job displacement and privacy. Integrating a values-driven approach early ensures longevity and trust in your product's development.
Trends to Watch
The AI space is moving at lightning speed, but automation roles for full-system control are still niche. By expanding beyond browser-based interactions, Simular places itself in a league that few companies touch. European markets, especially highly regulated industries in healthcare or finance, may benefit greatly from tools that improve operational reliability without cloud dependency.
The strong alignment of women-led startups to 'cut the fat' on outdated business processes makes this space rich for disruption. Sometimes you don't have to reinvent the wheel, just improve its function while steering smarter.
Conclusion
Simular shows us that the most exciting advancements often lie in niche expansions, not massive overhauls. Their journey, backed by global investors, strengthens the case for embedding precise, problem-solving AI into daily workflows, making life more efficient, not just automated.
As a European woman entrepreneur, I deeply relate to the need to streamline processes that otherwise swallow time and effort. Whether you run a lean startup on limited resources or aim to scale your idea across platforms, investing in the right automation tools could define your next big leap.
If you'd like to explore how automation can benefit your business model, I recommend checking out player-friendly tools like the ones Fe/male Switch offers. They might not move your mouse for you (yet!), but they definitely help founders move faster in achieving their goals.
FAQ
1. What is Simular's main innovation in the AI automation space?
Simular has developed AI agents capable of controlling entire operating systems (Mac or Windows), moving beyond browser-based limitations. The agents can physically move the mouse, perform clicks, and execute tasks autonomously, such as copying data into spreadsheets. Learn more about Simular's actions
2. How does Simular address the AI hallucination problem?
Simular solves the hallucination problem by using a neuro-symbolic approach: their agent explores tasks freely but locks successful workflows into deterministic code for future reliability. Understand how Simular fixes AI errors
3. What funding has Simular secured, and who are the investors?
Simular raised $21.5M in Series A funding led by Felicis Ventures, with participation from NVentures (Nvidia), South Park Commons, and others. Explore Simular's funding details
4. What practical use cases have been implemented with Simular's agents?
Early adopters include tasks like automating VIN number searches for car dealerships and extracting contract details from PDFs. Simular's technology targets repetitive, time-consuming tasks. Discover practical AI applications
5. Does Simular offer open-source solutions for developers?
Yes, Simular's platform is available as an open-source project, fostering collaboration and enabling developers to test its capabilities. Learn more about Agent-S open source
6. What industries can benefit most from Simular's full-system automation?
Regulated industries like healthcare and finance that require reliable, fully controlled workflows can benefit significantly from Simular's non-cloud-dependent automation. Read about industry-specific applications
7. How is Simular different from other AI startups?
Simular specializes in controlling operating systems rather than just browsers, allowing comprehensive automation of multi-step workflows. This puts them in a unique niche compared to traditional automated tools. See Simular's competitive edge
8. Is Simular's AI agent currently available for Windows?
Simular has launched its agent for Mac OS, with a Windows version in the pipeline, supported by Microsoft’s Windows 365 for Agents program. Track Simular’s Windows release
9. Does Simular plan to expand its AI capabilities?
Simular is actively iterating its technology, combining LLMs with deterministic workflows to enable reliability and productivity across platforms. Learn about Simular's roadmap
10. What lessons can entrepreneurs learn from Simular's approach?
Simular’s success highlights the importance of tackling practical problems, open-source collaboration, and forging strategic alliances with investors and big tech. Female entrepreneurs, in particular, can gain inspiration from this strategy to differentiate and innovate. Explore entrepreneurial insights from Simular
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
