Flower Labs, a Y Combinator-backed startup, unveiled a preview of its innovative distributed cloud platform, Flower Intelligence, designed to deliver AI model services with unmatched flexibility and security. The platform, which is already powering Mozilla’s upcoming Assist summarization add-on for Thunderbird, promises to revolutionize the way mobile, PC, and web apps handle AI tasks by seamlessly switching between on-device and cloud AI processing.
What Sets Flower Intelligence Apart?
Flower Intelligence stands out with its unique ability to automatically shift from local to cloud AI computing, depending on the app’s requirements—while ensuring user privacy. By default, apps rely on AI models running locally for speed and privacy. However, when more computational power is needed, the platform securely hands off the workload to Flower Labs’ private cloud, with explicit user consent.
This approach is similar to those adopted by tech giants like Microsoft and Apple in their operating systems. However, Flower Labs differentiates itself by being one of the first companies to create a hybrid AI platform built entirely on open models. These include cutting-edge models from Meta’s Llama family, Chinese AI lab DeepSeek, and Mistral, which provide unparalleled flexibility and accessibility.
Enhanced Data Security and Privacy
Flower Labs places a strong emphasis on data security, with its Flower Confidential Remote Compute service. The platform employs robust end-to-end encryption and other security measures to protect sensitive user data. Ryan Sipes, Managing Director for Mozilla Thunderbird, praised Flower Intelligence for its ability to deliver on-device AI solutions that process even the most sensitive data locally, ensuring the highest privacy standards.
Opportunities for Developers
Flower Labs is offering early access to Flower Intelligence starting today, giving developers the opportunity to explore its features and integrate it into their applications. The company plans to expand the service and introduce exciting new capabilities, such as model customization, fine-tuning, and federated training in the cloud.
Flower Labs Summit: Revealing More Innovations
In addition, Flower Labs is hosting an online and in-person summit in London on March 26. During this event, the company will reveal more details about Flower Intelligence, including its latest features and advancements in AI technology.
Founded in 2023, Flower Labs has already raised $23.6 million in venture capital from notable investors, including Felicis, Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue, Betaworks, and Pioneer Fund. The company’s early collaboration with Brave, the open-source web browser, marks an exciting step forward in its mission to revolutionize the AI space.
