MainFunc Launches Genspark AI Search Engine with $60M Funding, Aims to Simplify Financial Data with Distill Web

In June 2024, a startup called MainFunc launched its first product, Genspark. This AI search engine was founded by former employees of Microsoft, Google, and Baidu.

Since then, the world of generative AI has really taken off. It creates content on demand, while traditional search engines retrieve information. Recently, Google added Search grounding to its Gemini AI Studio. OpenAI also integrated its real-time web SearchGPT into ChatGPT.

MainFunc is making waves with a $60 million seed funding round led by Singapore's Lanchi Ventures. They’re partnering with AI model maker Anthropic to introduce “Distill Web” for Genspark. This tool aims to make financial reports easier to understand.

Launched just this week, Distill Web enhances Genspark’s capabilities, especially in finance. It allows users to look up over 300,000 public companies and generate clear, engaging financial reports. These reports come with colorful graphics and charts, making complex data much easier to digest.

Want to know how Apple is doing after its new iPhone launch? Or how Google is faring in the AI competition? Distill Web can generate reports that highlight interesting trends and outliers automatically. Think of it as a supercharged version of Yahoo or Google Finance.

Eric Jing, co-founder and CEO of MainFunc, says, “In the AI era, search will become a tool for agents. People won’t just search for a query or a list of links—they’ll come to complete tasks.”

Genspark.ai has gained over 1 million monthly users in just four months, mainly through word-of-mouth. This shows its potential as a significant player in AI-powered data accessibility. The recent update reflects its goal to change how users interact with data.

Jing emphasizes that they’re not targeting financial professionals. Instead, they want to help everyday users understand financial data from public companies. They hope to assist with private company data in the future, too.

The standout feature of Distill Web is the Corporate Earnings Visual Reports. These AI-generated visualizations turn complex earnings data into flowing diagrams. They highlight revenue streams, costs, and profit margins. Currently, the platform offers over 300,000 visual reports, with more added each month.

To enhance accessibility, Genspark also provides free Financial Data Packs. These downloadable PDFs give visual analyses of income statements from over 100 major companies. Users can easily track revenue, expenses, and profits.

MainFunc believes Genspark stands out from other AI search efforts due to its focus on high-quality, accurate data. They aim to avoid the issues seen with Google’s AI Overviews, which have faced criticism for providing inaccurate information.

Jing explains, “What sets us apart is that we don’t just use AI to provide tools—we create data platforms.” Their approach combines AI-generated insights with traditional coding techniques to ensure the accuracy of financial data.

To maintain that accuracy, MainFunc evaluated which large language models (LLMs) would best analyze financial data. They found that Anthropic’s Claude model excels in handling numbers and complex calculations. That’s why they partnered with them for this analysis.

To build trust, Genspark uses strict validation measures. “One major barrier to trust in AI is hallucination. To address this, we double-check numbers using both AI and traditional methods. It’s crucial that the data is reliable,” Jing states.

Distill Web offers more than just static reports. The All-in-One Company Dashboard consolidates key financial metrics for over 70,000 companies. It provides a comprehensive view of performance in one place.

For deeper insights, the AI-powered Financial Copilot answers tailored questions, such as comparisons with competitors or identifying growth drivers. Jing notes, “Normal users often don’t know what questions to ask when looking at financial data. That’s why we present pre-generated, visually rich reports.”

MainFunc plans to keep expanding its offerings and introduce new features for Genspark search. Jing shared, “We’re launching a new data search agent soon. It will autonomously collect accurate data from various sources, even when users are offline, delivering results in minutes that would normally take hours or days.”

Overall, their vision goes beyond just tools. They aim to transform how people access and understand data. “We believe high-quality data is more valuable than the models themselves. Our mission is to build a platform that makes data accessible for everyone,” Jing concludes.