Sigil Wen and Conway Research Launch Private AI Assistant Underdog with Local Device Processing
On Monday, 19-year-old Thiel Fellow Sigil Wen launched an invite-only beta for Underdog, a new private artificial intelligence assistant. Developed by Conway Research, Underdog runs entirely on user devices such as Macs and Windows PCs, keeping all user data local.
On Monday, 19-year-old Thiel Fellow Sigil Wen launched an invite-only beta for Underdog, a new private artificial intelligence assistant. Developed by Conway Research, Underdog runs entirely on user devices such as Macs and Windows PCs, keeping all user data local. Versions for Linux, iPhone, and Android will launch later.
To run quickly, Wen built an inference engine named Husky that reduces data transfer between computer chips. The system uses a 27-billion parameter reasoning model fine-tuned from Qwen3.8 27B. Wen states this model handles daily tasks like shopping research or math homework. Underdog features security measures including encrypted keys for authorized accounts like email.
The app will be free and ad-free. Conway Research plans to make money by taking a small percentage from payment transactions made through Stripe's secure payment rails. Conway Research is backed by investors including Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, Hummingbird, and the Anthology Fund.
Angel investors like Guillermo Rauch, Noam Brown, and Deedy Das also support the startup.
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Original publication: 7 October 2026 02:17