Current AI systems lack persistent, long-term visual memory. Building memory to search, chat, build and monitor video remains one of the most technically demanding challenges in AI, and companies often focus on making models think faster rather than remember better.
We couldn’t be more excited to back Memories.ai, building human-like memory systems for AI to enable machines to see, understand, and recall visual experiences across unlimited timeframes.
Founded by Shawn Shen and Enmin Zhou in the Bay Area, Memories.ai is launching the world’s first Large Visual Memory Model (LVMM), representing a significant breakthrough in unlimited video context understanding. The LVMM doesn’t just process videos. It builds persistent visual memories that can be searched, connected, and reasoned about, just like human memory.
Shawn and Enmin first met at Meta Reality Labs in the UK, where they pushed the boundaries of what AI could do before striking out on their own to build the memory layer for the next generation of visual AI. Aged 14, Shawn moved to the UK on a scholarship to attend high school before studying at Cambridge and completing his PhD.
Their unique partnership combines Shawn’s research background with Enmin’s product engineering expertise, enabling them to achieve what typically takes much larger teams years to accomplish.
Co-founder and CEO Shawn Shen highlights:
“Human intelligence isn’t just about processing information. It’s about building a rich, interconnected web of experiences and memories that inform every decision we make. When you see a friend across the street, you don’t just recognize their face; you remember every conversation you’ve had, every shared experience, every context that makes them uniquely them.
This is what’s been missing from AI. While companies have been racing to make models smarter, we realized the real breakthrough would come from making them remember. Specifically, giving them the ability to see, understand, and recall visual experiences across unlimited timeframes.”
On why we partnered with Memories.ai from Day One, our Investor Will Bennett comments:
“Shawn and Enmin are an exceptional duo and we’re ecstatic to be investors in their foundational technology for visual processing. They have truly earned their right to build frontier technology and are going after the video market with immense hustle. Seeing leading organisations adopt this technology is incredibly exciting and we can’t wait to see Memories make a huge impact on the world over the coming decades.”
In contrast to current tech that loads entire videos into context memory but can only handle 30 minutes of content at a time, Memories.ai is taking a completely different approach. Instead of loading everything at once, the platform takes the following steps:
- Compresses videos into rich memory representations
- Indexes them into searchable structures
- Aggregates information across graphical sources
- Serves relevant memories through instant retrieval
Using Memories.ai you can ask an AI system: “How many times has LeBron James made three-point shots in his entire career?” and get an answer based on analyzing decades of basketball footage. Or “Show me every time someone mentions Nike in social media videos this month” across millions of TikTok clips.
Customers across security, media, marketing and lots more are now able to transform their video archives from storage problems into visual insight goldmines. Shawn and Enmin see a future where they host these memories for AI systems, giving them the rich contextual understanding they need to become truly personalized to each human they interact with. They emphasize:
“When an AI has access to your visual memories—what you’ve seen, done, and experienced—it can understand you in ways that current AI simply cannot.
This means AI assistants that remember every interaction you’ve ever had, that understand your preferences not just from what you say but from what you see and do. Picture humanoid robots that can navigate the world not just through programming, but through accumulated visual experiences. Think about smart glasses or wearables that remember every place you’ve been, every person you’ve met, every moment that matters. These systems won’t just process your requests; they’ll understand the full context of your life.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s the logical next step in AI evolution. While others focus on making AI think faster, we’re focused on helping AI remember better and understand humans more deeply through unlimited visual context.”
Memories.ai is working on integrating its memory systems into mobile devices, preparing for a world where your phone doesn’t just store your photos but understands and remembers them. The company is currently building partnerships with hardware companies, expanding their customer base across industries, and constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible when AI systems can truly see and remember.
We’re excited to announce Memories.ai’s $8 million funding round alongside Susa Ventures, Crane Venture Partners and Creator Ventures. If you’re a company drowning in video data, a researcher fascinated by the intersection of visual memory and intelligence, or simply curious about what AI can become when it remembers, visit Memories.ai.