Ghost seed round Ghost, a San Francisco-based startup, has introduced an unusual new kind of personal computer: a $3,499 desktop with no screen, designed primarily to run AI agents rather than serve as a traditional computer for users.
Called Ghost Core, the machine is intended to sit quietly in a home or office while its AI agents handle tasks involving email, calendars, files and connected smart-home devices. Users interact with the system through a smartphone app using text or voice rather than a conventional monitor and keyboard.
A Computer Built for AI Agents ghost seed round
Ghost’s approach is centered on running AI locally. The company says Core keeps its AI models, processing and the information learned by its agents on the device instead of relying entirely on remote cloud infrastructure.
The company is positioning this as an alternative to subscription-based AI assistants. According to Ghost, customers purchase the hardware once and do not need a recurring subscription to use the system. The company also says personal information is encrypted and designed to remain under the user’s control.
The $3,499 price makes Core a significant investment compared with conventional consumer PCs. Ghost argues that the upfront cost can be viewed against years of monthly payments for cloud-based AI services.
Powerful Hardware Inside ghost seed round
Despite its screenless design, Core contains hardware aimed at running relatively large AI models locally.
The computer features an Nvidia RTX Pro 4000 Blackwell GPU with 24GB of memory, an AMD Ryzen 5 7600 six-core processor, 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
Ghost says the configuration can run AI models with around 30 billion parameters without depending on a data center. The company preinstalls models from Alibaba’s Qwen family and Google’s Gemma 4 31B, while users can also install other models from Hugging Face or use models they have trained themselves.
Designed to Connect With Personal Data
The most ambitious part of Ghost Core is the range of information its AI agents can potentially access.
Ghost lists integrations involving email, calendars, financial information, files, browser history, recordings, health records and smart-home devices. Compatible devices can include connected lights, refrigerators, speakers and cameras, as well as wearables such as Whoop, Oura and Eight Sleep.
The company’s vision is for the AI agent to understand patterns across a user’s digital life and proactively provide useful reminders or alerts.
For example, Ghost CEO Zain Javaid has described a scenario in which Core could combine health and computer-use information to alert someone that they might be getting sick. The company’s examples also include everyday reminders and calendar conflict notifications.
Privacy Remains a Major Question ghost seed round
Keeping AI processing at home could offer privacy advantages, but the system’s broad access to personal information also creates important security considerations.
Ghost says personal data remains on the user’s device. However, the company’s support and privacy information acknowledges that certain online functions, including web searches, email and software updates, require an internet connection. Some online tasks can also involve outside service providers.
That means buyers will need to consider not only the benefits of local AI but also the security of an always-connected computer that could potentially have access to sensitive financial, health and household information.
Ghost says Core includes a built-in firewall intended to monitor outgoing requests and prevent unauthorized use of stored credentials.
Ghost Bets on a New Kind of Personal Computer
Ghost’s founders believe the future of personal computing could move away from users directly operating applications and toward AI agents that work on their behalf.
The company’s argument is that traditional computers provide general-purpose hardware, while Core is specifically configured to operate AI models and agent software out of the box.
Ghost was founded by CEO Zain Javaid and co-founders Nicholas Chua, Yifei Chen and Gautam Sharda. Andreessen Horowitz led an $11 million seed funding round for the company, with additional participation from several other investors.
Preorders Open as Ghost Targets October Shipping
Ghost opened preorders for the first batch of Core computers on October 5. The company says shipments are expected to begin during the final week of October and that buyers will have a 30-day return window.
For now, Ghost has announced the product’s price in U.S. dollars and has not provided detailed shipping information or local pricing for many international markets.
Ghost Core represents an unusual bet on the future of AI hardware. Instead of putting another screen in front of users, the company wants its computer to disappear into the background and let an AI agent become the primary interface.
Whether consumers will pay $3,499 for a computer they rarely interact with directly remains one of the biggest questions surrounding the product.