Deon Nicholas, founder of Forethought, today announced the public launch of Espa, an AI-native executive assistant built to manage the logistics of work and personal life, all in one place. Espa is the only AI powered EA that combines the execution, context, and continuity of a great assistant to anyone who needs one—without the cost barrier.
Where most AI tools stop at drafting and suggestions, Espa executes: it sends the email, books the meeting, tracks the follow-up, and surfaces what’s been missed.
The platform serves founders, small business owners, creators, executives, and families who need the benefits of a full-time executive assistant but not the overhead. Espa captures intent wherever it arises—across email, text, voice, screenshots, or notes—and follows through, so users can direct their attention toward higher-priority work. While in stealth, Espa has grown to more than 500 users.
“I built and scaled Forethought as a father, a husband, and a founder, and I saw firsthand what’s possible when AI steps up in a meaningful way,” said Deon Nicholas. “In the enterprise, I was focused on execution—systems that could own outcomes for businesses. That led me to the idea that the same principles deserve to exist for anyone carrying the full weight of work and life. The right support system does more than reduce stress—it changes what you’re capable of. That’s what we built Espa to be, for everyone.”
Espa is backed by angel investors spanning tech, entertainment, and business, including Henry Shi (Anthropic), Adam D'Angelo (Quora CEO, OpenAI board member), Tekedra Mawakana (Waymo Co-CEO), Scott Wu (Cognition CEO), Anu Bharadwaj (former President of Atlassian), and LL COOL J, as well as institutional investors Axiom Partners, Village Global, Neo, SV Angel, Zapier, and Harlem Capital.
“Working with artists around the world means working around the clock. Deals happen at all hours of the day, collaborations span continents, and relationships require constant nurturing,” said Jeremy Erlich, Founder and CEO of Alta Music Group and former Global Head of Music at Spotify. “Espa is the first tool I’ve seen that seamlessly keeps up—capturing what matters, and following through. For creatives and their teams, this is the kind of ‘always-on,’ effortless support they need.”
For the past several years, enterprises drove AI adoption—and few were earlier to that wave than Nicholas and Espa co-founder and CTO Volodymyr Lyubinets. As co-founder and chairman, Nicholas led Forethought from seed to its acquisition by Zendesk; Lyubinets joined as engineer #1 and built the technical foundation that powered over one billion monthly interactions along the way. Now they’re turning that expertise to the consumer. Stanford's 2026 AI Index Report estimates generative AI is already delivering $172 billion in annual value to U.S. consumers—a behavioral tipping point that signals where the next wave of AI value will be created. With Espa, Nicholas and Lyubinets are positioned at the forefront of that shift.
“I love backing a founder like Deon, who is highly technical and can see a platform shift before it's obvious to everyone else,” said Ali Partovi, CEO of Neo, whose early bets include Cursor, Kalshi, and Wispr Flow. “Espa has the potential to redefine how everyone acts with AI.”
Key features of Espa include:
- End-to-end inbox and calendar management, including drafting, sending, scheduling, and follow-ups
- Privacy-first architecture that does not store email data or use it to train third-party models
- Deeply integrated across the reality of how you work and live—multiple inboxes, calendars, Slack, Google Workspace, and Granola, with on-the-go capture via iMessage, WhatsApp, text, voice notes, and screenshots
- Proactive tracking of tasks, commitments, and open action items
- Personalization engine that learns preferences, patterns, and priorities over time to become a better partner with continued use
Espa is available today at espa.ai with subscription plans starting at approximately $20 per month.
About Espa
Espa is an AI-native executive assistant that helps founders, small business owners, executives, creators and individuals manage the logistics of work and life—without the cost barrier of a human assistant. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, Espa owns outcomes and follows through, so users can focus on what matters most. Backed by Axiom Partners, Village Global, Neo, SV Angel, Zapier and Harlem Capital, as well as executives and researchers from Anthropic, Microsoft, Google DeepMind, Cognition, Quora, Atlassian, and Waymo, Espa's team has built products used and loved by billions. Learn more at espa.ai.
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Media Contact: espa@sutherlandgold.com
