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Humans&

Category: Foundation Models / LLMs

A frontier AI research lab developing human-centric generative models designed to augment human intelligence and foster collaborative reasoning through high emotional intelligence (EQ). Humans& was founded in 2025. The company is led by Eric Zelikman. Based in San Francisco, USA. Team size: 10-50. Total funding raised: $480.0M. Latest round: Seed ($480.0M, Jan 2026). Key investors include ["Nvidia","Jeff Bezos","SV Angel","GV (Google Ventures)","Emerson Collective"].

Founded
2025
Headquarters
San Francisco, USA
Team size
10-50
Total funding
$480.0M

Value proposition

Moves beyond 'chatbot' interactions to 'collaborative reasoning,' providing AI that understands human intent, processes internal thought (Quiet-STAR), and prioritizes emotional intelligence to improve decision-making.

Products and solutions

["Frontier Human-Centric LLMs","Collaborative Reasoning Interface","EQ-Integrated Reasoning Engine","Self-Taught Reasoning (STAR) Frameworks"]

Unique value

Unlike traditional LLMs that focus on next-token prediction, Humans& focuses on 'internal monologue' and reasoning-first architectures that mimic human cognitive flexibility and empathy.

Target customer

Knowledge workers, enterprise research teams, creative professionals, and organizations requiring AI that integrates into human workflows rather than replacing them.

Industries served

["Artificial Intelligence","Enterprise Software","Research & Development","Professional Services","Education & Creative Arts"]

Technology advantage

Leverages the 'Self-Taught Reasoner' (STAR) and 'Quiet-STAR' algorithms, allowing models to learn how to reason independently and process thoughts before generating output, significantly reducing hallucinations and improving complex problem-solving.

How they differentiate

Focuses on 'Collaborative Reasoning' and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) rather than just task automation. Utilizes proprietary 'Quiet-STAR' algorithms to give AI an internal monologue, allowing it to reason before speaking, which contrasts with the standard next-token prediction models of competitors.

Main competitors

["OpenAI","Anthropic","xAI"]

Key partnerships

["Nvidia (Strategic Investor & Compute Partner)","Google Ventures (GV)","Emerson Collective","Stanford University (Academic/Research ties via Noah Goodman)"]

Notable customers

["Enterprise Research Teams","Frontier AI Labs","Knowledge Work Professionals"]

Major milestones

["Company founded in 2025 by Eric Zelikman and former Google/xAI veterans","Secured $480M Seed round in January 2026","Reached 'Unicorn' status ($4.48B valuation) immediately upon emergence from stealth"]

Growth metrics

Achieved a $4.48B valuation at the Seed stage; team composed of elite researchers from xAI, Google, and Anthropic.

Market positioning

Frontier AI research lab positioned as a human-centric alternative to 'replacement-style' AI, targeting high-stakes enterprise reasoning and creative collaboration.

Geographic focus

Global (Headquartered in San Francisco, USA)

Patents and IP

Proprietary implementations of STAR and Quiet-STAR algorithms; specific patent filings are not yet public but are based on CEO Eric Zelikman’s pioneering research at Stanford.

About Eric Zelikman

Eric Zelikman is a distinguished AI researcher and the CEO of Humans&. He previously conducted frontier research at Elon Musk’s xAI, where he was instrumental in developing the reasoning capabilities of the Grok-2 model. A PhD researcher at Stanford University advised by Noah Goodman, he is widely recognized for inventing the Self-Taught Reasoner (STAR) and Quiet-STAR algorithms, which enable large language models to learn to reason with human-like flexibility. His work focuses on advancing AI through emotional intelligence (EQ) and collaborative reasoning paradigms.

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