Weekly AI Recap: Code, Community, and AI: The NovaSquare Story of Building AI Companions for Twitch Streamers

Good morning! ☕

Welcome to Homebase Edition #14 - A weekly newsletter bringing you stories & insights from scrappy teams and solo founders building the AI unicorns of tomorrow

What’s on tap today:

• Weekly Founder Story

• Weekly AI Headline Recap

• Emerging AI Trend

AI FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT
1 Founder story

NovaSquare's Playbook for Twitch Community Expansion

Mathieu and Nicolas never intended to redefine Twitch's landscape. Their story began unexpectedly during Mathieu's saxophone practice streams, with a casual joke about using AI to replace Nicolas as a chat moderator. This offhand remark led them to seriously consider the potential of AI in streaming.

The duo, two computer science students from Bordeaux, France, turned their coding skills and streaming passion into a startup called NovaSquare. Their creation, ai_licia, is an AI companion for Twitch streams that aims to enhance viewer engagement through personalized, context-aware interactions.

They've achieved:

🤖 Created ai_licia, an AI companion for Twitch streamers
🚀 70% of new users come from existing users
🎪 Met 500+ streamers at TwitchCon Paris
🌱 Built a thriving community of early adopters
🏆 Launched an ambassador program for a wider reach
💼 Developed a referral program to incentivize growth
🎨 Crafted a brand identity that resonates with creators


Through behavior customization and speech-to-text technology, ai_licia becomes an extension of the streamer, fostering an engaging community while giving creators more time to build their brand.


How they did it: 

💡 Applied firsthand streaming knowledge
🔬 Iterated product based on user feedback
🤝 Cultivated strong early adopter relationships
🗺️ Maintained transparent product roadmap
🎯 Prioritized organic growth via user referrals
🔄 Pivoted fundraising strategy to match the market
💰 Bootstrapped while optimizing the business model



Key Highlights:

• Developed AI companion for Twitch community management

• Created personalized engagement solutions for streamers

• Shifted from manual to AI-powered community management

• Bootstrapped with founder capital and initial sales

• Prioritized user feedback for product improvement

• Focused on organic growth through user recommendations

• Adjusted fundraising approach to match market realities

Read more about their journey here 🔥🔥🔥

HEADLINE ROUNDUP
Headline recap

• Apple postpones Apple Intelligence rollout to October, also volunteers to join White House's AI Risk plan. (B)

• Meta Releases Segment Anything Model 2.0, Includes Demo Tool. (M)

• Paris 2024 Olympics to showcase extensive AI, transforming experiences for athletes, spectators, and organizers. (IOC)

• X auto-enables setting to use user data for Grok AI training, including interactions, posts, inputs, and results. (TC)

• Morgan Stanley Moves Forward on Homegrown AI (WSJ)

• Reddit blocks major search engines from showing recent posts unless paid, with only Google currently displaying recent results. (TV)

• Stanford and Toyota achieved the world's first AI-driven, driverless tandem drift to enhance autonomous driving safety. (SUE)

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Re-releases Dioptra: Open Source Tool to Assess AI Model Vulnerability to Malicious Attacks. (TC)

• Video game performers announced a strike over AI concerns. (AP)

• Open Source AI Takes Center Stage at Y Combinator Event, FTC Chair Lina Khan Advocates for Fair Competition. (W)

TRENDS
1 AI Trend of the week

Reclaim.ai

• Location: Portland, Oregon, US

• Founded: 2019

• Total Funding: $13.3M

• Employees: 11-50

• Growth: +3200%
  

Reclaim.ai is making waves with its AI-powered calendar assistant. The tool aims to streamline scheduling and optimize time management for individuals and teams.

Why it matters: Effective time management is a common challenge in today's workplace. Reclaim.ai claims it can save users up to 40% of their workweek - a bold promise that's catching attention.

The big picture: Reclaim.ai is part of a growing group of AI assistants trying to fix workplace mess. These digital helpers are moving beyond just moving tasks around; they want to shape how we spend our work hours. As they get better, these tools could change how our workdays flow, how our offices work, and how we balance work and life. it's a question that both workers and bosses will have to think about in the years ahead.