Ghost exits stealth with $11M a16z-led seed round for $3,499 personal AI computer
In brief
- Andreessen Horowitz led Ghost's $11 million seed round, per Crypto Briefing.
- Core, Ghost's flagship product, is a dedicated personal AI computer priced at $3,499.
- Core shipments are expected to begin on October 31, 2026, according to Ghost.
- Core runs models locally, including Qwen 3.8-27B and Gemma 4-31B, the company says.
- Ghost pitches full user ownership of models and context, with no subscriptions.
What Core is
So what does $3,499 get you?
According to Crypto Briefing's report on the launch, Core runs on an NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell GPU with 24 GB of GDDR7 memory, paired with 64 GB of DDR5 RAM. Storage comes from a 1 TB NVMe SSD. The processor is a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 7600, and every one of those specs comes from Ghost itself.
Ghost says Core can run inference locally on models including Qwen 3.8-27B and Gemma 4-31B. That compatibility list is the company's claim (it hasn't been presented as an independent benchmark), so it's worth treating as a spec sheet rather than a test result.
Ghost's ownership pitch
The company says the device is meant to connect with apps and smart devices, then reason and take actions continuously without relying on cloud infrastructure. Ghost also says users get complete ownership over both the AI models and the context those models use, and it's positioning Core as working without subscriptions.
That's a one-time $3,499 price instead of a monthly bill, if the pitch holds up.
For now, the privacy, ownership and no-subscription points are Ghost's framing, not established fact. Units haven't shipped yet; the company expects deliveries to start on October 31, 2026, which is when buyers will get their first look at how Core performs outside of a launch announcement.
Who's backing Ghost
Ghost's founder and CEO, Zain Javaid, is a former quant trader. Andreessen Horowitz led the $11 million round, with Abstract Ventures, Audacious Ventures, SV Angel and Nova joining as other institutional backers.
The individual investor list includes Cory Levy, Max Mullen, Vincent Weisser, Zach Sims and Maria Davidson, according to Crypto Briefing. That's nine named backers beyond a16z for a company that only came out of stealth on Monday.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ghost's Core AI computer?
Core is Ghost's flagship product, a dedicated personal AI computer priced at $3,499. According to the company, it runs inference locally on models including Qwen 3.8-27B and Gemma 4-31B, and it's designed to connect with apps and smart devices without relying on cloud infrastructure.
What hardware does Ghost's Core use?
Ghost says Core runs on an NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell GPU with 24 GB of GDDR7 memory and 64 GB of DDR5 RAM. It also has a 1 TB NVMe SSD and a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor.
When does Ghost's Core ship?
Ghost expects shipments of Core to begin on October 31, 2026. The device is priced at $3,499, and the company is positioning it as working without subscriptions.
Who invested in Ghost's $11 million seed round?
Andreessen Horowitz led the round. Other institutional backers include Abstract Ventures, Audacious Ventures, SV Angel and Nova, and individual investors include Cory Levy, Max Mullen, Vincent Weisser, Zach Sims and Maria Davidson.
