Hark’s $700M Bet on a Secret AI Assistant Raises Big Questions

Can a startup with a stealthy strategy and a mountain of cash build the first consumer AI hit? Hark is betting yes. The AI lab announced a $700 million Series A on Thursday, valuing the company at $6 billion post-money. The round, led by Parkway Venture Capital, includes a who’s-who of backers: AMD Ventures, ARK Invest, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and others. What’s striking is how little Hark has disclosed about its product. Founder and CEO Brett Adcock—also behind robotics firm Figure.AI and electric aircraft maker Archer—launched Hark in late 2025 with $100 million of his own money. His goal: an agentic AI system that acts as a universal interface for the digital world. The company plans to release its first multi-modal models this summer, powering a personal AI platform that works with existing services, followed by custom hardware. The fresh capital will go toward hiring top talent in hardware, design, and AI research, plus securing compute and components. Hark currently has 70 employees and runs a data center with Nvidia B200 GPUs. Abidur Chowdhury, a former Apple product executive and Hark’s design director, says investors were impressed by demos but offered few specifics. He criticized today’s AI products for focusing on developers rather than everyday users. “I haven’t seen anything that feels like something that will really help the normal person,” he said. But big hurdles remain, especially around privacy and context. When asked how a wearable AI assistant could avoid making bystanders uncomfortable, Chowdhury smiled and said, “Sounds like that would make a great product.” For now, Hark has the cash and the secrecy. The market will have to wait for the answers.