Former Sequoia partner's new startup uses AI to negotiate your calendar for you (techcrunch.com)

Former Sequoia Capital partner Kais Khimji has launched Blockit, an AI-powered calendar scheduling startup, aiming to transform how people manage their appointments. Backed by a $5 million seed round from Sequoia, Blockit leverages advancements in large language models (LLMs) to enable AI agents to negotiate meeting times autonomously, bypassing traditional back-and-forth emails. Unlike competitors like Calendly, which relies on users sharing links, Blockit aims to create a more integrated experience by allowing AI agents from different users to communicate directly about scheduling. The significance of Blockit lies in its potential to redefine how we interact with our schedules by treating calendars as interconnected databases rather than isolated tools. Users simply instruct the AI on their preferences, allowing it to handle logistical negotiations with the nuance of a human assistant, even prioritizing meetings based on contextual cues in communication. Currently adopted by over 200 companies, including prominent startups and venture firms, Blockit represents a substantial opportunity in the market for AI scheduling solutions, tapping into the “context graphs” of decision-making that could lead to substantial growth in the AI/ML space.