Add someone to your professional network with the click of a button. But how many of them get lost in the abyss of LinkedIn connections and endless content feeds?
Goodword, a new professional networking startup, says it can use AI to help people maintain these relationships.
“We’re more digitally connected than ever, but the human brain still has the same limitations,” Goodword CEO Caroline Dell told Business Insider.
Goodword leverages AI to build tools that foster deeper connections, including search capabilities, follow-up conversation reminders, and referral options. The company describes its product as a “network co-pilot,” featuring an AI assistant that lets users chat and keep track of meetings and people they meet. Chief product and technology officer Chris Fischer said the platform is built using OpenAI’s large-scale language models.
Goodword isn’t necessarily trying to compete head-on with LinkedIn as the next big professional network. LinkedIn is, in Fischer’s words, “the world’s most important professional platform” and “a content machine,” but Goodward is trying to solve a different problem.
“We’re not trying to build a networking app per se that’s going to help people build networks,” he said. “We’re building something that allows you to spend time with the right people and build deeper relationships.”
Dell, who was an early employee at Chief, an executive networking organization for women, partnered with Fisher, who has worked at several startups, in 2024. In October, the startup released a beta version of its product and announced it had raised $4 million in a seed investment round led by Human Ventures, with participation from January Ventures, Bain’s Future Back Ventures, and angels like Andrew Yong and Chief co-founder.
Goodword’s recent funding will be used to develop its product, add data integration, cover the cost of large language models, and expand its research and development team. The startup is based in New York and has a team of five full-time staff and three contractors.
An annual subscription to this product costs approximately $200, and a free trial is offered. Fisher said the startup plans to introduce monthly memberships, but wants early users to commit to a one-year commitment as the team works closely on developing the product.
Goodword’s technology integrates users’ LinkedIn networks, calendars, and email, and it plans to add integrations with other tools users use regularly, such as note-taking apps.
Although Goodword automates some of the networking steps for its users, Fischer emphasized that Goodword is not an AI agent tool that replaces the networking experience.
“One of our differentiators is that we are really human-centered,” Dell said.
Professional networking is a popular category, and new startups are looking to disrupt the status quo with the help of AI. Other startups have also raised millions of dollars from investors, including Boardy, an AI agent for referrals, and Gigi, an AI-powered professional networking platform.
Read the pitch deck Goodword used to raise $4 million in seed investment.
Note: Some slides and details in the document have been updated or edited by Goodword to make the document publicly available.
Goodword markets itself as a platform that is “more than networking”
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This paper begins by outlining the issues of professional networking.
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Goodward’s deck dives into data points
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Next, the startup plans to market the social app.
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Goodward outlines space opportunities
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Good word that emphasizes “human relationships” even though it is an AI startup
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Next, on deck we introduce our co-founders
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Next, we’ll show you how the product works
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This deck concludes with a quote from an anthropologist
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Also a link to sign up for early access
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