Martha Stewart’s new AI startup: A good thing?
Martha Stewart just launched a new startup called Hint—an “always-on, AI-native home management platform” set to launch this summer. The venture was born out of a conversation Stewart had with Kyle Rush, her neighbor and an AI engineer. The two developed the idea to create software that can help identify and solve pesky home repairs and reduce expenses. After Stewart partnered with Rush and home-services executive Yih-Han Ma, Hint was born. “The first thing you do is give us your address,” Ma explained to Fortune. Then, Hint pulls publicly available data on the property. Users can upload further information, like inspection reports and insurance policies, to give Hint a more holistic picture of the property so it can keep a record of the home’s history and needs. The company raised $10 million in seed funding. There are other VC startups in the space, like Honey Homes and Birdwatch, but they rely on human labor. Fortune reports that Hint will use artificial intelligence to sidestep that cost and connect people with products and services—from which it can earn an affiliate commission. “Hint is an always-on home management platform that keeps your home organized, protected, and always working for you,” Stewart wrote in a LinkedIn post. “For more than 40 years, I have been documenting how a well-run home should work: the standards, the seasonal routines, the small decisions that prevent expensive problems. All of that expertise is now embedded in Hint, working on your behalf before you even know you need it.” Stewart told Fortune that she always envisioned a tool for people to manage their homes the way she does, but that the technology hasn’t been sufficient. Stewart has been active in the process of building Hint, from writing guidelines the model follows to testing its suggestions on her property. “Think of it as a digital extension of the trusted teams that have helped me care for my homes for decades—the contractors, the plumbers, the gardeners, the designers—now