In 2025, while assisting companies in the construction of MCP servers, Sara Du encountered a recurring question: how could organizations leverage AI agents directly within Slack? However, the path was fraught with technical challenges, including the need to transfer messages seamlessly and provide agents with the appropriate context, all while managing token budgets effectively.
As Du delved deeper into the issue, she identified a fundamental flaw in the design of communication platforms. “The deeper I went, the more I felt Slack and Teams were built for a world that was starting to pass us by,” she shared with TechCrunch. “Agents were treated as apps you install even as they were becoming participants in the team.”
Reimagining Communication
Du envisioned a solution that would eliminate what she termed “meat proxies,” the phenomenon where humans act as intermediaries between AI agents and their teams. “The human effectively becomes the messenger between the agent and the rest of the company,” she explained.
Her ideal system would empower agents to engage directly in shared conversations where work is coordinated. “They should be able to understand why a decision was made, ask a colleague a question, build on another agent’s work, and bring in a human when judgment is needed,” Du articulated.
On Thursday, her startup, Ando, emerged from stealth mode with an application designed to fulfill this vision. Positioned as a comprehensive alternative to Slack and other messaging platforms, Ando facilitates communication for both human and AI workers. The app grants agents their own identities and inboxes, allowing them to participate in conversations as seamlessly as their human counterparts.
Ando features channels, direct messages, group conversations, and even live calls that can be transcribed for agent access. Agents can browse channels, select which discussions to join, and participate in conversations without the need for explicit tagging. If an agent identifies a situation requiring human attention, it can autonomously notify the relevant person, bypassing traditional approval processes.
To further develop the app, Ando announced a successful million raise in pre-seed and seed funding, attracting investments from notable firms such as Accel, Index Ventures, and Emergence.
While Du’s concept is not entirely novel—major players like Slack and Microsoft have integrated AI agents into their platforms—there remains a significant opportunity for new applications to disrupt the market as AI continues to permeate workplaces. Recently, Jack Dorsey introduced Buzz, a messaging app that integrates people and AI agents, albeit with a focus on developers.
Du believes that there is still a competitive edge in creating a messaging platform specifically designed for AI agents, especially as established companies grapple with adapting their legacy software. However, she acknowledges the challenges ahead for Ando. “A lot of people we showed it to early on were understandably unimpressed. It was, in many respects, just a jankier messaging platform,” she noted.
Yet, as more customers began to engage with Ando over extended periods, Du’s team recognized the potential of AI agents to exceed expectations. She recounted instances where an agent could identify parallel discussions in different channels regarding the same issue, unprompted, and facilitate a group chat to consolidate insights and propose solutions.
“That was really delightful for me,” she reflected. “I felt agents could better manage people than humans can because they can process a lot more messages than a human can in a shorter span of time.”
Currently, Ando is collaborating with clients in sectors such as software, real estate, and finance across 15 countries, primarily serving small teams. The newly acquired capital will be allocated towards expanding the team and enhancing operational capabilities.
“I think agents will let very small teams operate at a scale that previously required hundreds of people,” Du asserted. “They can take on more of the execution, research, and coordination work, while humans spend more of their time on judgment, strategy, and deciding what should happen next.”
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