---
title: About Jan
---

Jan is a Personal AI that you can customize, that runs privately on your own computer. 

We envision a future where our lives are improved by helpful and practical AI assistants, that we continuously customize to meet our needs. 

## Why does Jan Exist?

### Our Mission

To enable high-productivity individuals to use AI to scale themselves. 

### Our Ideal Customer

Our ideal customer is an AI Enthusiast who wants to experiment with solving problems using AI, and is ok with experimental software. 

- Semi-technical (i.e. can code simple Javascript/Python scripts), i.e. not able to build the whole thing themselves
- Will file bugs
- [Plus] Wants to share their solution with others 

Our goal in 2023 is to find 500 of these ideal customers. 

### Problem Statement

Our ideal customer has clear ideas for how to solve his/her problems using AI, but has not done so because:

- Lack full skillset across UI, Backend and MLOps to build their own custom Personal AI
- Doesn't have 10 hours/week to build and maintain a Personal AI
- Uncomfortable with giving personal info to ChatGPT

### Our Solution

Jan is a Personal AI that you can customize, and runs privately on your own computer.

- Tinker and customize in <10 lines of code
- Pre-built plugins (e.g. RAG, Langchain, LlamaIndex)
- Mobile support (including helpful widgets)

Jan has a very modular architecture that allows you to swap out or customize components, without having to rebuild everything. 

## How Jan Works

###  Open Source

Jan is a startup with an open source business model. We believe in the need for an open source AI ecosystem, and are committed to building it. 

- [Jan: a Personal AI](https://github.com/janhq/jan) (AGPLv3)
- [Nitro: run Local AI](https://github.com/janhq/nitro) (AGPLv3)

### Build in Public

We use Github to build in public, and welcome anyone to join in.  

- [Jan's Kanban](https://github.com/orgs/janhq/projects/5)
- [Jan's Roadmap](https://github.com/orgs/janhq/projects/5/views/2)

### Bootstrapped

Jan is currently a bootstrapped startup. We balance technical invention with the search for a sustainable business model. 

We appreciate any business that can balance growth with cashflow/profitability. 

### Remote Team

Jan has a fully-remote team. We are mainly based in the Asia timezone. We use [Github](https://github.com/janhq) and [Discord](https://discord.gg/af6SaTdzpx) to work. 

## Contact

### General Enquiries

Drop us a message in our [Discord](https://discord.gg/af6SaTdzpx) and we'll get back to you.

- `#general`: for general discussion
- `#jan-dev`: for Jan-related questions
- `#nitro-dev`: for Nitro-related questions

### Careers

Jan has a culture of ownership, independent thinking, and lightning fast execution. If you'd like to join us, we have open positions on our [careers page](https://janai.bamboohr.com/careers).   
