Artificial intelligence is great and all, but doesn’t it still feel a bit manual? Entering prompts, tweaking settings, switching between platforms – all these minor inconveniences take the time-saving mystique away from the power of our AI companions.
Enter AI agents. Unlike traditional AI systems that require constant human input, agents can operate autonomously or with minimal intervention. A simple example is the iOS Mail app’s automatic email summarization feature: an AI agent working behind the scenes to save users time.
Jupiter-based entrepreneur Rick Blalock is on the case. You might know Blalock from one of his latest ventures, Fish Rules, which he exited; or his qualitative feedback startup.
Now, Blalock and business partner Jeff Haynie are laser focused on redefining how AI agents are deployed and managed at scale by launching startup Agentuity.
Backed by a $4 million seed round led by Boldstart Ventures with additional participants including Bloomberg Beta, Southern Equity, and OneSixOne Ventures, Agentuity is building what Blalock describes as an “AI-first cloud.”
Agentuity was born out of a frustration – and an opportunity.
“When we started working with AI agents, it became clear that the infrastructure for running them at scale just didn’t exist,” Blalock told Refresh Miami. “The current cloud providers weren’t designed with AI in mind. They’re great for traditional applications, but trying to deploy AI agents on them was like forcing a square peg into a round hole.”
Blalock and Haynie, both serial entrepreneurs with deep technical expertise, saw parallels between today’s AI landscape and the early days of mobile app development. Back then, they worked together at a startup that helped companies build apps without the need for dual-platform coding. Now, with Agentuity, they aim to simplify the complex web of frameworks, tools, and services required to run AI agents.
“We’re asking, ‘What does an AI-first cloud look like?’ and building it from the ground up,” Blalock said of their first-principles approach.
The company’s platform focuses on three key areas: cloud infrastructure, software development kits (SDKs), and user interfaces for monitoring and managing agents.
“Imagine being able to click on a pre-built solution for content moderation or customer support and having it come with 50 ready-to-deploy agents,” Blalock explained. “That’s where we’re headed.”
Haynie, for his part, has raised over $150 million in venture funding across multiple startups, including one that developed a cross-platform SDK for mobile apps, adopted by Fortune 500 companies.
“The ultimate vision is to make AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud feel like legacy systems for the old app world,” Blalock said. “We want Agentuity to be synonymous with the next generation of cloud infrastructure: an AI-native platform that meets the unique demands of this technology.”
While the company is still in its early stages, progress thus far has been rapid. The Agentuity team has built a prototype and plans to launch an early access version of its platform by March.
Blalock also emphasized the importance of Florida in Agentuity’s journey. With investors based in Miami and Gainesville, the startup represents a growing wave of innovation coming out of the Sunshine State. “It’s exciting to contribute to Florida’s AI ecosystem,” he said. “There’s so much untapped potential here.”