Why We Started SideMindLabs
Introduction
When we started SideMindLabs, we weren't trying to build a "startup" in the traditional sense. We were two students who shared the same frustration, staying updated with the world of AI felt harder than building in it. Despite AI advancing faster than ever, the information around it was scattered, noisy, and overwhelmingly time-consuming to navigate. Every day we scrolled through X, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, research hubs, and Discord servers… only to realize we were spending more time searching for updates than actually learning from them. We began to wonder whether the real problem wasn't the lack of information, but the lack of clarity, and if we could do something about it. That simple question became the seed of SideMindLabs.
Where It Started
We've known each other for nine years, since middle school. From building small projects in classrooms to hacking ideas in our dorm rooms, we always shared the same curiosity: how do we make technology feel simpler, more human, and more helpful? SideMindLabs wasn't born out of a grand plan or business blueprint. It was born from late-night conversations, unfinished Figma boards, whiteboard scribbles, and a shared belief that AI should clarify, not complicate. That belief eventually became our north star.
The Moment Everything Clicked
In mid-2025, while working through internships and personal projects, we noticed a pattern: everyone, students, developers, founders, researchers, was struggling to keep up with AI. Not because they lacked interest, but because they lacked time. Important breakthroughs got lost between browser tabs. Useful insights were buried beneath hype. Critical research never reached the people who needed it most. AI was accelerating, but the understanding of AI wasn't. That's when we asked ourselves: what if staying updated didn't have to feel overwhelming? What if an AI could read everything you don't have time to read… and just tell you what matters? That question eventually became AInformed.
AInformed: Our First Step Forward
AInformed is an AI-powered platform that curates, summarizes, and explains the most important AI and Data Science news from research labs, tech companies, open-source communities, and social platforms. We built it because we needed it ourselves. Switching between countless sources, missing important updates, and losing hours in the noise wasn't sustainable. So we created a tool that fetches reliable information, filters out irrelevance, summarizes content in clean, easy-to-read language, personalizes the experience, and delivers everything in one place. AInformed is our first product, but it's only the beginning.
Beyond Aggregation: Toward Understanding
Most platforms today simply list articles. Some summarize them. But very few aim to build true clarity. We realized the future isn't about giving people more information, it's about giving them clearer information. AInformed is just the foundation for something bigger: a collection of human-centered AI tools that make complex information accessible, intuitive, and genuinely useful. We want to build tools that feel like teammates, not databases, tools that understand what matters to you and help you save time instead of taking more of it.
Why Now
AI is evolving faster than any previous technology cycle. Every month brings new models, research papers, breakthroughs, and paradigm shifts. But speed without understanding creates confusion, misinformation, and unnecessary fear. We believe the people who thrive in the AI era will be those who stay informed with clarity, not volume. The world doesn't need another feed full of links, it needs a guide that helps make sense of everything. And that's the gap we're committed to closing.
The Bigger Picture
SideMindLabs is more than just AInformed. It's a student-led studio where curiosity meets engineering, and where every project begins with a simple question: "How can we make AI feel easier for people?" Over time, that curiosity has become a discipline, designing interfaces that respect attention, building products that remove complexity, crafting AI experiences that assist instead of overwhelm, and creating innovation driven by purpose rather than noise. We're already working on our next projects, like CivicScan, an AI tool that helps people understand legal and civic information with clarity. And we have many more ideas in the pipeline. Our long-term vision is to build a suite of human-centered AI tools that empower people across education, research, law, productivity, and everyday decision-making.
Looking Ahead
We're still early. We're still learning. We're still students, building in dorm rooms, libraries, cafés, and anywhere an idea happens to strike. But we're committed. We're curious. And we're working every day to build products that we genuinely believe the world needs. SideMindLabs started because we were tired of complexity. It will grow because we believe the future belongs to people who understand technology, not just consume it. And this is just the beginning.
Aryaman & Shrish
Founders, SideMindLabs