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The former Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, refuses to sit on the sidelines of the generative AI revolution.<\/p>\n
After spending the last six years running Sunshine, a photo-sharing and contact-management startup with little success, the storied tech leader has shuttered<\/a> the company to launch Dazzle<\/a>, a new startup focused on building the next generation of AI personal assistants.<\/p>\n While Mayer is not yet sharing specifics about Dazzle\u2019s functionality, she has revealed that the new company has raised an $8 million seed round at a $35 million valuation. The round was led by Forerunner\u2019s Kirsten Green, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Greycroft, Offline Ventures, Slow Ventures, and Bling Capital. Although Mayer has admitted to investing her own capital in the startup, she emphasized that the round was led by Green, a venture capitalist with a storied record of identifying iconic consumer brands such as Warby Parker, Chime, and Dollar Shave Club.<\/p>\n Green\u2019s investment suggests Dazzle is poised for the coming wave<\/a> of new AI-infused consumer businesses. The founder of Forerunner Ventures previously told TechCrunch that while enterprise AI took the early lead in this tech cycle, consumer-facing AI is a \u201clate bloomer\u201d that\u2019s finally ready for its breakout.<\/p>\n Even for a founder of Mayer\u2019s fame, landing Green as a lead investor is a significant stamp of credibility for Dazzle, especially after Sunshine was widely considered to be a flop. \u201cI think she really has a great sense for where people and platforms are going,\u201d Mayer said. \u00a0<\/p>\n Mayer told TechCrunch that the Sunshine team began prototyping Dazzle last summer, a project that quickly eclipsed their previous work in ambition and opportunity. \u201cWe realized that this was something that we were much more excited about,\u201d she said, noting that Dazzle has potential for \u201ca much bigger impact\u201d than what Sunshine was building.<\/p>\n Originally founded as Lumi Labs in 2018, Sunshine first launched with a subscription app for contact management dubbed \u201cSunshine Contacts.\u201d Despite its founder\u2019s high profile, the product struggled to gain traction. Privacy advocates raised alarms over the app\u2019s practice of pulling home addresses from public databases to enrich contact lists, and the company never recovered from the initial skepticism. By 2024, the company broadened its offering by adding event management and \u201cShine,\u201d<\/a> an AI-powered photo-sharing tool. The new offering was widely criticized for its outdated design and similarly failed to attract widespread usage.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> Sunshine raised a total of $20 million from investors, including Felicis, Norwest Venture Partners, and Unusual Ventures. When the company was dissolved, investors received 10% of Dazzle\u2019s equity, Mayer said.<\/p>\n Reflecting on Sunshine\u2019s struggle, Mayer was candid about its limitations, admitting the problems the company was tackling were too \u201cmundane\u201d and not large enough. \u201cI don\u2019t think we got it to the state of overall polish and accessibility that I really wanted it to be,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Mayer is now betting that the lessons from Sunshine will help her build a much more resilient and impactful business with Dazzle.<\/p>\n Before her tenure as Yahoo CEO, Mayer was employee number 20 at Google, where she helped design Google search \u2018look and feel\u2019, and oversaw the development of Google Maps and AdWords.<\/p>\n \u201cI have had the rare privilege of being at two companies that really changed how people do things,\u201d Mayer told TechCrunch. \u201cYahoo, for many, defined the internet. Google, in terms of Search and Maps, changed everything. I really aspire to build a product that has that kind of impact again.\u201d<\/p>\n Dazzle is expected to come out of stealth mode early next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n