The Messaging App That Respects You—Inside Ankit Dave’s Bold Vision for Farflung.AI

Ankit Dave walked away from a thriving career at Google to chase something bigger than stability—impact. As the founder of Farflung.AI, he’s reinventing the way we connect, blending the chaos of group chats with the clarity of AI-powered planning. In this edition of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, Ankit shares how his leap of faith collided with a once-in-a-generation tech shift, and how resourcefulness shaped both his mindset and mission. His story is one of scrappy ambition, bold principles, and building tech that respects people—not exploits them.

Hi, Ankit! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

Farflung.AI is the first AI messenger built for friends who actually want to do things, not just talk about them. We serve a generation that lives in Group Chats but is tired of the chaos that usually comes with them.

We’ve all been there: You send a text saying, "Let's go to Tokyo!" Everyone gets excited. But then reality hits—links get lost in the scroll, dates get confused, and eventually, the excitement fades because the planning is just too hard.

Farflung changes this. It is the only app where you can chat, plan, and organize all in one place, with the help of a very personal AI assistant—not just for you, but for your entire group. Whether you’re planning a trip or just a night out, the AI is there to help you find the info, organize the dates, and keep the vibe alive without making you leave the conversation. We turn "we should do that someday" into "see you on Saturday".

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

It wasn't when I signed the paperwork. It was a specific Friday in May 2025, when I walked out of Google’s offices for the last time.
I had wanted to be an entrepreneur for years, but I was waiting for the right moment. Then, I watched the AI revolution unfolding from the inside. I realized we were standing at the edge of a technological shift that happens once in a generation, and I simply couldn't resist. I knew that if I stayed in my safe job, I would regret it forever. Walking out of that building was my ultimate "leap of faith"—trading the certainty of the past for the possibility of the future.

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

My leap was driven by two realizations. First, while working on bringing Gemini to Google Home Hubs, I realized that every single product we use today is about to go through a transformational change. I started paying close attention to the tools I used daily, and I saw a massive problem with messaging.
The apps we use are either dumb utilities that force us to do all the work, or they are distraction machines designed to steal our time and sell our data. I wanted to build something different—a platform that brings back the human touch. I envisioned a space that makes you smarter and more productive, not distracted. A place where technology works quietly to help you connect deeply with friends and family, without selling your private moments to advertisers. I realized that if I wanted a messaging app that respected my time, protected my privacy, and actually helped me live a fuller life, I had to build it myself.

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

AI Coding Tools. Specifically, tools like Antigravity and Cursor have been nothing short of transformative for us.
When you're a small team building something ambitious, speed is your only advantage. These AI coding assistants act like a force multiplier, allowing a handful of engineers to output the work of a team ten times our size. They handle the repetitive, boilerplate code so we can focus entirely on the complex logic and creative problem-solving that makes Farflung unique. They have allowed us to iterate at a velocity that would have been impossible just a few years ago.

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

My path was shaped by necessity. I grew up with a passion for building "future tech"—human-sized robots, computers without keyboards—but I almost never had the budget for the parts I needed.
That lack of resources forced me to become obsessively scrappy. I learned to look at a problem not as a dead end, but as a puzzle to be hacked. When I came to the US to study, I arrived with only one semester’s worth of living expenses. Most people would have packed up and gone home. Instead, I went into "figure it out" mode, finding creative ways to fund my education and survive. That mindset—that you don't stop when you run out of resources, you just get more creative—is the core DNA of Farflung. We don't wait for permission or perfect conditions; we just build.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

We treat you like a Customer, not a Product.
Almost every other social app is free because they are tracking you to sell ads. We took a different path. We believe your Group Chats should be private. We are betting that the next generation is tired of being spied on and wants a tool that actually works for them. We focus on building features that help you become a better version of yourself—more organized, more connected, and less distracted. It’s a bold move to reject the ad model, but it builds the only thing that matters: Trust.

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

Stop waiting for the stars to align.
I stayed in my comfort zone for years because I thought I needed to be "ready." But the truth is, you will never feel fully ready. The perfect time doesn't exist.
My advice? Just take the leap and work hard. If you have a vision, don't let it die in your notes app. You can't plan for everything from the sidelines. You have to jump, burn the safety net, and trust that you’ll figure it out on the way down.

Want to dive deeper into Ankit's work? Check out the links below!

• Visit Farflung.AI's website: farflung.ai
• Connect with Ankit Dave on LinkedIn: Ankit Dave
• Subscribe to Farflung.AI on Youtube: @FarflungAI
• Find Farflung.AI on X: @FarflungAI
• Follow Farflung.AI on Instagram: @Farflung AI
• Follow Farflung.AI on Tiktok: @farflung_app
• Join Farflung.AI Community in Discord.