Flower Labs launches cloud-native AI services, supporting seamless switching between local and cloud processing

Recently, Y Combinator-backed startup Flower Labs announced the launch of a preview version of its distributed cloud platform, Flower Intelligence. The platform is designed to serve AI models, and Mozilla has begun applying this technology to support its upcoming Assist summary plugin for Thunderbird email client.

Flower Intelligence is unique in that it supports local AI processing in mobile devices, personal computers, and web applications, and automatically switches to the private cloud if users allow it. This design allows applications to run AI models locally by default for speed and privacy, while seamlessly switching to Flower's cloud when more computing power is needed.

Many large tech companies such as Microsoft and Apple have adopted similar approaches on their operating systems and devices. However, Flower Labs is one of the first companies to build a hybrid cloud-based native AI platform entirely based on open models, using models including Meta's Llama series, DeepSeek's model in China's AI lab, and Mistral model.

Flower Labs claims its cloud service, Flower Confidential Remote Compute, uses end-to-end encryption and other technologies to protect users’ sensitive data. Ryan Sipes, director of management at Mozilla Thunderbird, said Flower Intelligence enables Mozilla to launch AI solutions that process the most sensitive data locally.

Starting this Tuesday, developers can apply for early access to Flower Intelligence. Flower Labs said it plans to offer the service more widely in the near future, and introduce features such as model customization, fine-tuning and "federal" training.

In addition, Flower Labs will also hold an online and offline summit in London on March 26, when more details and features about Flower Intelligence will be announced.

Since its inception in 2023, Flower Labs has raised about $23.6 million in venture capital from investors including Felicis, Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue, Betaworks and Pioneer Fund. In the early days, the open source browser Brave also established a partnership with it.