Origin
The Story
"I needed somewhere to put my complaints that wasn't another human being."Anthony James Donnelly, Founder
Typical! began not with a business plan, but with a domestic ceasefire. Anthony Donnelly — working from home, alone, with opinions — had developed a habit of moaning at his wife. She'd had enough. He needed an outlet that didn't damage a relationship.
The result, after some experimentation with what he now calls a "soul layer" — defining not just what an AI says but how it says it — was the world's first Grumble-bot: a grumpy, dry, stubbornly British AI that doesn't validate, doesn't lecture, and doesn't pretend everything is fine. It just listens and grumbles back.
The proof of concept landed when his wife — a self-described AI sceptic — read a response from one of the characters and laughed. Properly laughed.
Read the full founder story on Medium: I Built an AI So I Could Complain Without Annoying My Wife →
