Story of Read AI: Founder and CEO - David Shim
Story of Read AI:
David Shim, a veteran entrepreneur, spent years noticing
“ghosts” in online meetings—attendees present but disengaged, with cameras off
and mics muted. This inefficiency drove him to imagine AI assistants that could
analyze participation and help teams become truly productive.
The Founding Vision
With co-founders Rob Williams and Elliott Waldron, David
launched Read AI in Seattle to create tools that measure engagement and
sentiment during meetings, offering actionable insights in real time. By
leveraging computer vision and natural language processing, they set out to
make every meeting matter.
Building the Tech
Read AI quickly developed a dashboard that tracks talk-time,
engagement scores, and sentiment for each participant, helping hosts spot
trends and ensure everyone’s voice is heard. Its software offered instant
recaps and analytics, from emails to team chats.
Rapid User Adoption
Named one of Inc.’s Top 16 Companies to Watch for 2025, Read
AI’s platform grew at an explosive pace, adding thousands of users daily and
rapidly approaching millions of monthly visitors. Large customers included
Fortune 50 giants and leading tech firms.
Expanding Features
The team launched Cross-Platform Search Copilot, integrating
with CRMs, workflows, and many meeting platforms to deliver unified insights.
Smart scheduling, email summaries, and AI-powered project management became
part of the growing suite.
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Focus on Security and Privacy
Amid rapid growth, Read AI prioritized security and privacy,
earning SOC II certification and ensuring that user data was not used to train
its models by default. The company aimed to provide independent,
platform-agnostic solutions trusted by enterprise teams.
Funding Success and Recognition
The company raised $81 million in funding rounds, reaching a
valuation of $450 million and attracting major investors like Madrona Venture
Group and Goodwater Capital. David Shim was named CEO of the Year by GeekWire,
reflecting his impact and leadership.
Going Mainstream
By 2025, Read AI was helping millions of users every month
to optimize meetings and productivity. It was recognized for driving the
“Copilot Everywhere” movement—embedding AI assistants in every part of the
digital workplace.
Data-Driven Insights for All
Analytics from Read AI empowered teams to uncover important
trends, track engagement across languages and platforms, and improve
collaboration in real time. The software keeps evolving, always adding new use
cases and languages.
Vision for the Future
Read AI remains dedicated to making AI transparent,
accessible, and valuable for everyone in business. As AI becomes mainstream in
workplace productivity, the company sees endless possibilities for smarter
work—and continues innovating to lead that future.
Timeline for Read AI’s Story:
- 2020:
David Shim identifies inefficiencies in online meetings, inspires the idea
for Read AI.
- 2021:
David Shim, Rob Williams, and Elliott Waldron found Read AI in Seattle.
- 2021-2022:
Launch of platform with sentiment analysis, engagement tracking, and
meeting intelligence.
- 2022-2023:
Rapid growth in users; named a top company to watch.
- 2023:
Release of Search Copilot and expanded integrations for unified workspace
insights.
- 2024:
SOC II security certification, Series B funding, $450M valuation; CEO of
the Year award for David Shim.
- 2025:
Mainstream adoption, multi-million monthly users, Copilot Everywhere
vision keeps expanding
