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Sēkr , a inauguration that volunteer a mobile app for out-of-door partisan and campers , is launching a unexampled AI pecker for planning road trips . The new tool , called Copilot , is available on the startup ’s updated website and app , which is used by more than 100,000 user .
The company was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping the “ van life ” community find camping area based on their needs , such as shower facilities , convenience , overnight van parking or complimentary Wi - Fi . The app also allows users to connect with fellow travelers who want to take part in outdoor action together , like rock music climb or skiing .
After being learn by van company Peace Vans in December 2023 , the startup is under new leaders . Sēkr and Peace Vans CEO Harley Sitner was a user of the app for seven year but had noticed last year that the app had last dormant . He learned that the founders of the startup were go to slow down the app due to the sudden shift in global fundraising climates in late 2022 , despite have a strong user base . Sitner , who was a former Cartesian product manager at Microsoft , was draw close to develop Sēkr in November 2023 .
Fast - forward eight months , the startup is now look to help people well plan the journeying to their destinations , while also updating the app with enhance features that outride on-key to Sēkr ’s original mission .
With the young AI - powered road stumble planning puppet , Sēkr is combining natural language processing with proprietary data from its community of user who have left critique and ratings about specific position . Copilot also looks at publically available data when creating road misstep itineraries . The tool leverages OpenAI ’s GPT , Meta ’s Llama and others .
“ For the millions of people traveling by van , car , or RV this summertime , Sēkr Copilot will help you bypass hours of trip planning to cursorily deliver a good itinerary , ” Sitner said in a program line . “ AI is n’t going to make a bird’s-eye sundown , but it will help you overcome the notorious planner ’s cylinder block , place you up for serendipitous moments , and tie in you to an veritable road trip experience co - created by Sēkr ’s incredible community of dedicated drug user . ”
co-pilot can be accessed via the new “ Trip Planning ” tab on the startup ’s internet site or app . Once user open up the tool , they will be asked to answer a serial publication of prompt about where they ’re going and what they ’re looking for . The creature will then supply a travel itinerary that has editable trip legs that include camping destinations , stops for food and out-of-door activities .
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The theme behind Copilot is to help oneself travelers discover unparalleled places that they may not have known about otherwise . For instance , the tool may advance travelers to control out a greaser motortruck parked by the side of a dusty road in Baja that exploiter have said offers better solid food than a five - star reviewed Denny ’s outside of Los Angeles . Or , the tool may boost users to explore sequester , overlooked domain in BLM ( Bureau of Land Management ) land that overlooks scenic views .
Sēkr is available oniOSandAndroid . The app ’s basic features are devoid to practice . Users can unlock agiotage features like , offline maps , case discount rate codes , and outright electronic messaging and look for for $ 4.99 per month .
The startup antecedently received $ 2.25 million in seed funding run by Storyteller Overland , with participation from Backstage Capital , Techstars , Ad Astra Ventures , Crescent Ridge Ventures and Andy Ballester , the co - founder of GoFundMe .
