Lemony AI: Revolutionizing On-Premise AI with 'AI-in-a-Box' Solution

Uptime Industries wants to boost localized AI usage with an 'AI-in-a-box' called Lemony AI | TechCrunch

Uptime Industries is taking a bet on on-premise AI infrastructure with an "AI-in-a-box" handheld device called Lemony AI. The size of a sandwich, Lemony AI can supposedly run a large language model (LLM), AI agents and AI workflows all on one node. Each Lemony requires only 65 watts of power to run, the equivalent of charging a laptop, and can be stacked and connected to form bigger AI clusters. Sascha Buehrle, co-founder and CEO of Uptime, told TechCrunch that each node can sustain an LLM up to 75 billion parameters in size, and can host open-source models or retrofitted versions of closed models. In a cluster of Lemony nodes, each device can run a different model. Uptime is launching with partnerships with IBM and JetBrains to provide its customers easier access to AI models, including IBM's closed models. Like most tech startups, the idea for Lemony AI stemmed from a side project: Uptime's co-founders, Buehrle and Ivan Kuleshov, were trying to figure out if they could distribute language models on Raspberry Pi's micro computers, and while this wasn't originally related to generative AI, when it worked, they started trying to see what else these Raspberry Pis could handle. When they realized running models on local devices could prove the key to unlock more AI adoption by organizations -- say, enterprises that don't want to use cloud-based models -- they started building a device of their own. They figured going small with an emphasis on data privacy could get companies to adopt AI quicker. "We need to build something small which can go easily into the teams, and which [does] not require any organization-wide decision making -- bringing on-premise generative AI solutions into the business teams, basically," Buehrle said. Clusters of small and powerful devices can help the system grow according to a customer's needs, he added. The company says it has already seen strong demand from business in heavily-regulated industries like finance, healthcare and law. "Everything stays in your box," Buehrle said. "So your documents, your files, your emails -- the models are hosted in the box, the agents are running locally in the box, and nothing is leaving the box." Uptime has so far raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by True Ventures, with participation from Alumni Ventures, JetBrains, and some angel investors. The company will use the funds to further develop its devices. The startup says the plan now is to get the software it has developed for its micro AI computers, Lemony OS, to work on other companies' hardware, like the Nvidia DGX Spark. It also wants to expand the software from its current, single-user focus to one that can be used by teams. Lemony AI costs $499 a month to use, and can be accessed by up to five users.

Lemony is a plug-and-play device for secure on-premise AI

Lemony launched a simple-looking device to deliver on-premise artificial intelligence to redefine how organizations deploy generative AI. Lemony's secure, hardware-based node offers enterprise-grade 'AI in a Box,' empowering companies to run advanced, end-to-end AI workflows privately, instantly, and without cloud dependence. Lemony has secured a $2M seed funding round led by True Ventures. Lemony's AI nodes are stackable and scalable, creating small, modular AI compute clusters that support seamless expansion across users. Lemony can host the entire technology stack, from foundation models to lightweight, specialized agents, and gives businesses the power of secure, on-premise AI that will allow them to grow and scale. Imagine activating thousands of emails, PDFs, and other files that were previously nearly impossible to access. Lemony activates previously dormant company data, securely, at scale. The result is a flexible, powerful system that grows with a company's AI ambitions, Lemony said. While the device looks like a toy, it has enterprise-grade technology, the company said. Sascha Buehrle, cofounder and CEO, said in a message to GamesBeat that the founders saw the growing struggle of bringing AI infrastructure into data centers. "Unlike traditional server setups, generative AI hardware mostly requires water cooling and specialized power configurations, leading to massive upfront investments, a lot of special knowledge required and super lengthy approval and planning processes," Buehrle said. "At the same time, we witnessed how cloud-based data and user prompts are increasingly treated as fuel for training the next generation of models, especially now that most publicly available datasets have already been consumed." She added, "That's why we said: businesses need a fast, simple way to adopt generative AI, without the fear, friction, or risks and what teams can decide for without lengthy processes and big upfront investments and with the ease of the cloud but in a safe plug and play environment." Lemony said it offers a fearless, refreshingly simple solution: a powerful, on-premise AI device with sophisticated AI models that requires no specialized knowledge. It was specifically designed to address the inherent privacy and compliance risks of cloud-based AI while democratizing access to this powerful technology. Lemony empowers every organization to participate in the AI revolution on their own terms to make internal knowledge accessible, searchable and usable across teams. Lemony brings plug-and-play AI, the power of large language models (LLMs), adaptors, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), directly to the desktop. It is exceptionally easy to use: employees simply plug it into their computer or local network, upload their reference documents, and they are ready to go. "We built Lemony to make enterprise AI simple, cost-effective, and secure," said Buehrl. "Organizations shouldn't have to choose between capability and control. Lemony delivers both, right out of the box." Strategic partnerships with IBM and JetBrains The launch is bolstered by two major industry partnerships. IBM is collaborating with Lemony to deploy its enterprise-grade AI models on the Lemony nodes. These models will allow Lemony users to deploy trusted IBM AI solutions securely and locally, bypassing the need for massive infrastructure investment. JetBrains, the software powerhouse behind development tools used by more than 12 million coders worldwide, is integrating its coding models and tools into the Lemony node. This partnership allows software developers to leverage JetBrains' intelligent development features on Lemony hardware, making IP and workflows locally executable and fully secure. The platform offers unique team capabilities; developers will collaboratively use JetBrains development platform with transparency and auditability, making it the first to assess AI-generated vs. human code for security and compliance. And Charasoft, a certified reseller and trusted provider to U.S. government agencies, will sell Lemony's secure, privatized AI nodes to its public sector and healthcare customers, providing additional evidence that Lemony is ready for mission-critical use in sensitive, highly regulated environments. Lemony is already in use by lawyers, health practitioners, distributors, and financial advisors, among many others. It is manufactured in the United States and Europe, and is designed to empower small businesses and corporate teams alike. Whether an organization is offering legal services, banking, medical services, or serving as a solo-practitioner, everyone should have access to the benefits of AI, with ease, simplicity and compliance. Built for Privacy And Compliance Lemony AI is already in use across highly regulated industries, including legal, finance, government, and healthcare, as well as teams or IT leaders who are hesitant to embrace AI due to concerns over the sovereignty of their corporate data. It is particularly resonant with teams wary of cloud-based data exposure. Each node supports up to five users and comes preloaded with a curated set of among 16 high-performance open-source models, including IBM's Granite family, several Meta's Llama variants, and others. With Lemony, different teams can run their own nodes or clusters of nodes and securely connect them. This enables teams to share knowledge across the organization, but only at the depth permitted by defined AI access policies. In other words, teams can tap into the expertise of others while maintaining strict control over what GenAI-generated knowledge is accessible. This federated yet governed approach allows large institutions to scale AI collaboration without compromising data boundaries, privacy, or compliance With no cloud connectivity, no data sharing, and a physical security key option, Lemony is a robust answer to corporate governance issues, including the rise of "shadow AI," business data shared with models for training, and mounting compliance demands. Users receive quarterly USB software updates, ensuring the node continuously evolves to include the latest technology, models agents, and updates, without breaching internal security protocols. Pricing and Availability Lemony is available today with a subscription price of $499 / month, which can be accessed by up to five individuals and includes hardware and software access, updates, and support. Pricing per node is reduced as customers add nodes. Teams can stack multiple nodes for advanced multi-model or departmental usage. A two-week free trial program is available at www.lemony.ai. Lemonys' investors include True Ventures with key influencer advisors, including Meta's Nicola Bortington. The New York company has 17 employees and it has raised $4.2 million to date.

Lemony launches on-premises AI solution for local model deployment - SiliconANGLE

Lemony launches on-premises AI solution for local model deployment Generative artificial intelligence on-premise solutions provider Lemony, officially Uptime Industries Inc., today announced the launch of a new, on-premises AI solution designed to give organizations the power of large language models without the risks of cloud-based deployment. The new product, described as "AI in a Box," is a plug-and-play hardware node that allows businesses to run advanced generative AI workflows locally, securely and instantly. Each Lemony node can host a full AI stack, from foundation models to retrieval-augmented generation agents. The service is aimed at privacy-conscious sectors such as healthcare, legal, finance and government. The system requires no specialized knowledge to set up or operate and supports up to five users per device, with stackable scalability for larger teams. The core idea behind the "AI in a Box" offering is to eliminate the need for external cloud infrastructure, helping enterprises avoid common concerns around data sovereignty, compliance and shadow AI. According to the company, the system can activate and make searchable thousands of documents and files, unlocking previously dormant knowledge while maintaining strict internal security controls. "We built Lemony to make enterprise AI simple, cost-effective and secure," said co-founder and Chief Executive Sascha Buehrle. "Organizations shouldn't have to choose between capability and control. Lemony delivers both, right out of the box." The product launch is supported by several strategic partnerships. IBM Corp. is collaborating with Lemony to provide enterprise-grade AI models, including its Granite model family, preloaded for secure local deployment. Software development tools provider JetBrains s.r.o. is also partnering with Lemony to integrate its AI-assisted coding models directly onto the hardware, allowing developers to work with full transparency and auditability. The new offering also has the support of Charasoft Corp., a certified reseller and trusted provider to U.S. government agencies, who will sell Lemony's AI nodes to its public sector and healthcare customers. The nodes are manufactured in the U.S. and Europe and prior to today's full launch, have already been adopted by customers across legal, health, distribution and financial services. The federated architecture offered by the nodes allows multiple teams within an organization to operate their own nodes or clusters while retaining tight control over what AI-generated insights can be shared across departments. Lemony is venture capital-backed and has raised $2 million in seed capital from VC firm True Ventures LP.