Shadow

Shadow

14/05/2025

Shadow: AI-Powered Meeting Assistant Research Report

Shadow represents a new generation of AI-powered meeting assistants that operates without disruptive bots, automatically capturing meeting insights and transforming discussions into actionable results. The platform distinguishes itself through local transcription processing for enhanced privacy, automatic speaker detection, and comprehensive post-meeting task automation. Founded in 2024 by Jay Song, a former Samsung Ventures executive, Shadow addresses the common problem of meetings generating more administrative work rather than productive outcomes.

Description Rewrite

Shadow is a bot-free AI autopilot meeting assistant that automatically listens to and understands conversations during meetings, helping users complete follow-up tasks 20 times faster. The platform transcribes everything said and heard during meetings, generates comprehensive summaries, extracts action items with due dates and assignees, and drafts follow-up communications. Unlike traditional meeting assistants that require bots to join video calls, Shadow operates entirely in the background, processing audio locally on users’ devices to maintain privacy and security. The service integrates with major video conferencing platforms including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, Slack huddles, and Discord.

Deep Service Report

Shadow emerged from a strategic pivot by its founding team, who previously developed Tape, an asynchronous messaging platform for remote teams. The transition to meeting management software reflected market research indicating stronger demand for automated meeting solutions than asynchronous communication tools. The platform’s core value proposition centers on transforming meetings from time-consuming administrative burdens into productive knowledge assets.

The technical architecture emphasizes privacy through local processing, with transcription occurring entirely on users’ devices rather than cloud servers. This approach addresses growing corporate concerns about data security in AI-powered business tools. Shadow’s AI capabilities extend beyond basic transcription to include intelligent extraction of key business metrics such as Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing (BANT) criteria for sales teams, automatic CRM updates, and customized reporting templates for different meeting types.

The platform’s automation features include real-time speaker identification, automatic meeting detection, and post-meeting workflow integration. Users can query past meeting data through natural language interfaces, enabling quick retrieval of decisions and insights without manual transcript review. Shadow’s template system allows customization for specific meeting types, including one-on-one sessions, lead generation calls, and investor updates.

Customer feedback consistently highlights the non-intrusive nature of Shadow’s operation compared to bot-based alternatives, with users particularly appreciating the seamless background functionality and high-quality transcription capabilities. The platform has garnered positive reception on Product Hunt, where it maintains strong user ratings and active community engagement.

Country

United States (headquartered in San Jose, California)

Pros & Cons

Pros:
  • Bot-free operation eliminates meeting disruptions and participant concerns about recording
  • Local transcription processing ensures enhanced privacy and data security
  • Automatic speaker detection and real-time identification improve meeting context
  • Comprehensive post-meeting automation reduces administrative workload significantly
  • Integration with major video conferencing platforms provides broad compatibility
  • Template customization enables specialized functionality for different meeting types
  • Natural language querying of historical meeting data streamlines information retrieval
  • Strong customer satisfaction ratings and responsive development team

Cons:
  • Limited integration capabilities compared to more established competitors
  • Beta stage status may indicate feature limitations or stability concerns
  • Smaller team size could impact customer support scalability
  • Newer market entry means fewer third-party integrations and partnerships
  • Desktop-focused functionality may limit mobile user experience
  • Team collaboration features still under development

Pricing

Current Pricing Structure:
  • Beta Plan: Free access to all features during beta testing phase
  • Future Pricing: Not yet announced publicly, as the platform remains in beta development

The company has not disclosed specific pricing tiers or subscription models for post-beta commercial release, indicating they are likely still determining optimal pricing strategies based on user feedback and market positioning analysis.

Competitor Comparison

FeatureShadowFathomFireflies.aiZoom WorkplaceWebex Suite
Bot-free OperationYesNoNoNoNo
Local TranscriptionYesNoNoNoNo
Action Item ExtractionYesYesYesYesYes
Speaker IdentificationYesYesYesYesYes
CRM IntegrationYesYesYesYesYes
Custom TemplatesYesLimitedYesLimitedLimited
PricingFree (Beta)FreemiumFreemiumSubscriptionSubscription
Meeting PlatformsMulti-platformMulti-platformMulti-platformZoom-focusedWebex-focused
Enterprise FeaturesDevelopingYesYesYesYes

Team Members

Core Team:
  • Jay Song – Founder \& CEO
  • Ashley Kim – Business Lead
  • Chad Oh – AI Writer/Content Specialist

Team Members About

  • Jay Song serves as Founder and CEO, bringing extensive experience from both venture capital and technology sectors. His background includes five years as a Software Engineer at Samsung Electronics, followed by over two years as Investment Director at Samsung Venture Investment. During his venture capital tenure, Song invested in multiple technology companies including Genvid Technologies, Light Field Lab, gnani.ai, Mathpresso, and Mobeewave. He holds education credentials from Hanyang University and previously served as a Drill Instructor in the Republic of Korea Army. His entrepreneurial journey began with co-founding Tape in 2021 before pivoting to establish Shadow in 2024.

  • Ashley Kim leads business operations and strategic initiatives for Shadow. She founded the company’s Founder Series program, designed to connect technology entrepreneurs across the industry and facilitate knowledge sharing. Her role encompasses business development, partnership management, and community building initiatives.

  • Chad Oh functions as the company’s AI writer and content specialist, focusing on large language model applications and content creation. His responsibilities include blog post writing, action item extraction system development, and assisting with various automated content generation tasks that support the platform’s AI capabilities.

Team Members SNS Links


Jay Song:
  • LinkedIn: https://kr.linkedin.com/in/jeongjinsong
  • Location: Seoul, South Korea (operates company remotely)

Ashley Kim:
  • Company profile: https://www.shadow.do/team/ashley-kim
  • LinkedIn: Not publicly available in search results

Chad Oh:
  • Company profile: https://www.shadow.do/team/chad-oh
  • LinkedIn: Not publicly available in search results

Company Social Media:
  • LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shadowai
  • Official Website: https://shadow.do
  • Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/products/shadow-4

Final Thoughts

Shadow presents a compelling solution for professionals and teams seeking to enhance meeting productivity while prioritizing data privacy. Its bot-free operation and local processing capabilities set it apart from some competitors. While the lack of readily available pricing information is a slight drawback, the potential benefits of streamlined workflows and enhanced data security make Shadow a tool worth exploring.