Company
System 3 is building next-generation productivity tools
that are good for the soul.
Our vision
System 3: A third cognitive system that extends human capabilities through the integration of personal computing and AI.
Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman described System 1: the automatic, instinctive system that handles quick reactions and gut feelings. It's fast but prone to biases.
System 2 extends human capabilities beyond other animals: it's the deliberate, analytical system that handles complex calculations and logical reasoning. It's accurate but demands effort.
Just as System 2 extends System 1's capabilities, System 3 extends both: it combines your personal knowledge library with AI that acts as your library staff, ready to extend, connect, and apply your thinking.
Meet the founders
Daniel Grossmann-Kavanagh
Co-founder, engineering
Distributed systems and data platforms
Past: Benchling, Planet Labs
Product theses
We believe next-generation productivity tools
must embody these three qualities.
Egocentric
The cloud era moved your digital life into corporate walled gardens. In the AI era it's going back: your digital world should be centered on you. Your data in your control, in human- and AI-readable formats, stored where you choose.
AI-native
Just as farmers became tractor operators, knowledge workers are becoming AI operators. Everyone will be a toolmaker, not just programmers. Products must embrace this transformation or become irrelevant.
Multiplayer
Thinking is a team sport. From neural networks to nation-states, knowledge work emerges from the interaction of agents. AI brings powerful new players to the field. Tools must reflect the inherently multiplayer nature of thinking.
Our work
Products
We're building Relay, our first product, to make Obsidian multiplayer while respecting personal sovereignty. It's the beginning of our vision for System 3 — tools that amplify human capability through deep integration of personal computing and AI.
Consulting
We offer limited consulting engagements to help teams adopt next-generation knowledge work practices for the AI era.
