Connect with us

Funding

Pickmybrain Raises $2.1M to Build AI “Digital Brains” for Experts

mm
Founder and CEO: Sergei Verbitski

Tallinn-based startup Pickmybrain has raised $2.1 million in a pre-seed round as it works to transform how expertise is shared and monetized in the age of AI. The company is building what it calls “Digital Brains,” AI-powered versions of real people trained on their knowledge, content, and communication style.

The round includes backing from a group of business angels, including Garri Zmudze, an early investor in Insilico Medicine, as well as Raison.app, which manages $250 million in assets under management, alongside additional non-public investors. The company is building AI-powered “Digital Brains” for celebrities, experts, and public figures, with the funding set to support team expansion, entry into new markets, and continued product development.

Turning Expertise Into Always-Available AI

Pickmybrain is built around a simple idea: experts have valuable knowledge, but limited time. The platform attempts to solve that bottleneck by converting an individual’s insights into a persistent AI system that can answer questions instantly.

Each Digital Brain is trained on materials providedectly by the expert, including interviews, articles, books, and recorded responses. This structured approach allows the AI to function more like a personal knowledge engine rather than a generic chatbot.

For users, the experience is straightforward. They can ask questions and receive responses grounded in a specific individual’s expertise, often with references to the original source material. For experts, it creates a way to scale their knowledge without repeatedly answering the same questions.

The platform also introduces a hybrid layer. While routine queries are handled by AI, more complex or high-value questions can be routedectly to the expert, who responds through asynchronous video.

From Content Creators to “Expert Economies”

Pickmybrain is entering a space that sits between creator platforms and AI tooling. Traditional creator economies rely heavily on content production, audience growth, and advertising models. By contrast, this model focuses on utility and transactions, where users pay for access to expertise rather than attention.

The broader shift is already underway. Platforms are increasingly exploring ways to turn knowledge into structured, monetizable assets rather than fleeting content. Pickmybrain’s approach reflects that transition, positioning expertise itself as the product.

Its current roster includes over 1,000 professionals across sports, entertainment, and business, ranging from startup founders to global public figures.

The Rise of Personal AI Models

What makes Pickmybrain notable is how it frames AI not as a general-purpose tool, but as something deeply personalized.

Instead of relying on broad internet data, these systems are trained on curated inputs controlled by the expert. This creates a more defined boundary around accuracy, tone, and ownership. It also addresses a growing concern around attribution and consent in AI training.

At a technical level, the model resembles a private knowledge graph combined with conversational AI. Inputs are structured, indexed, and retrievable, allowing the system to generate responses tied to specific sources rather than probabilistic guesses.

This architecture points toward a future where individuals maintain their own AI layer, one that evolves alongside their work and accumulates knowledge over time.

Where This Could Lead

The concept of Digital Brains hints at a larger transformation in how expertise is distributed.

If successful, platforms like Pickmybrain could reshape industries built around consulting, coaching, and advisory services. Instead of one-to-one interactions constrained by time, knowledge becomes accessible on demand, across geographies and time zones.

There are also implications for teams and organizations. A well-trained Digital Brain could act as a persistent advisor, onboarding tool, or institutional memory system, reducing reliance on documentation and manual knowledge transfer.

At the same time, the model raises questions about authenticity, pricing, and how value is assigned when human expertise is partially automated.

For now, Pickmybrain is still early. But the $2.1 million raise signals growing interest in a category that blends AI, identity, and monetization in a way that could redefine what it means to “scale” human knowledge.

Antoine is a visionary leader and founding partner of Unite.AI, driven by an unwavering passion for shaping and promoting the future of AI and robotics. A serial entrepreneur, he believes that AI will be as disruptive to society as electricity, and is often caught raving about the potential of disruptive technologies and AGI.

As a futurist, he is dedicated to exploring how these innovations will shape our world. In addition, he is the founder of Securities.io, a platform focused on investing in cutting-edge technologies that are redefining the future and reshaping entire sectors.