Zain Javaid, 19, announced Monday that Ghost has emerged from stealth after securing $11 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The round also included participation from Abstract, Audacious Ventures, SV Angel and Nova. Javaid, who previously worked as a quant investor, shifted focus after the 2022 release of ChatGPT, which he described as the catalyst for his current work.

Ghost's first product, Core, is a $3,499 computer designed to run AI agents that perform tasks and manage personal data. The device includes an Nvidia RTX Pro 4000 SFF Blackwell GPU, bundled in the price, and runs software built specifically for AI functionality. Core operates without a screen, accessed through a phone or app, and features voice control via the Core app. Three models are preinstalled: Qwen-3.8-Next, Qwen-3.8-27B and Gemma-4-31B, with options to install additional models from Hugging Face or upload custom-trained versions.

The hardware and software are tailored for AI agents rather than general computing, unlike devices such as the Mac Mini. Javaid emphasized that Core receives over-the-air updates for new models, allowing users to adopt improvements without manual intervention. Updates can be configured to install automatically or require user approval.

Manufacturing occurs at a San Francisco facility, with preorders opening Monday and shipments scheduled for the last week of October. The system stores and processes all data locally, encrypting personal information to prevent access by cloud providers or third parties, including Ghost. A firewall monitors outgoing network requests to restrict unauthorized use of credentials, and the device continues functioning even if Ghost ceases operations. Javaid stated that all source code, logic and model weights reside on the device, ensuring user ownership of data and functionality.

An example use case involves Core detecting elevated resting heart rate, late-night work activity and seasonal flu trends to proactively notify a user of potential illness. Javaid noted that while Apple produces capable hardware, Ghost aims to address software limitations in how AI systems remember, reason and act across a user's digital life.

The founding team consists of Nicholas Chua, 19; Yifei Chen, 24; Gautam Sharda, 23; and Javaid. The company describes Core as a "brain in a box" focused on creating a product users love, independent of hardware competitors. All content is stored and processed on-device, with no reliance on external service maintenance.