Synopsis
Emergent, backed by SoftBank, has launched Wingman, an AI agent to automate routine tasks across popular tools, aiming to boost productivity. Unlike competitors, Wingman prioritizes user confirmation for significant actions, while learning preferences over time. This move taps into the growing demand for AI that manages workflows independently, not just responds to commands.Listen to this article in summarized format
“Most people aren’t failing at productivity. They’re buried under the smaller tasks that never stop coming,” Mukund Jha, cofounder and CEO of Emergent, said in a statement. "We proved with software creation that the right technology, built the right way, reaches everyone. Wingman applies that same principle to autonomous agents. Now, anyone can have an always-on team working in the background, not just people who know how to build one.”
Wingman, which will rival the likes of OpenClaw and Nanobot, allows users to deploy multiple agents simultaneously for functions such as scheduling, social media management, sales support, research, and hiring. Emergent competes with companies such as Lovable, Replit, and Cursor. Lovable also offers an ‘Agent Mode’, which is an autonomous, AI-powered software development agent that acts like a senior developer to create full-stack web applications from natural language prompts.
The startup claimed that unlike other autonomous agents in the market, Wingman is designed with “a clear line between what it does on its own and what it checks with users first”. Low-stakes tasks execute automatically, it said. However, before taking any consequential action, like sending a message to a large group or modifying important data, Wingman pauses and asks for confirmation.
Wingman, it said, also retains contextual memory over time, allowing it to learn user preferences and reduce repetitive inputs. The move comes amid rising interest in agentic AI systems, with companies exploring tools that can independently manage workflows rather than simply respond to prompts.
Emergent had announced in February that it had hit $100 million in annualised revenue run rate — in just eight months after being founded.
Only a month prior, the startup had raised $70 million from Khosla Ventures and SoftBank — in a round that tripled its valuation to about $300 million.
