Lino · Yixi (Chris) Wu

Lino

As AI grew more capable month by month, I became deeply anxious.
If AI can do our thinking, what is left for us?
This product is my answer.

I went looking for what only humans have.

I found intent.

Knowing what we want, and why. It is what sets us apart from AI, and the strongest tool we have.

I called the work around it

Intent Engineering

As agents run faster, the slowest link is how quickly people can form a good intent

Intent doesn't fit in a chat box. It needs a space to grow.

A place to discover it, develop it, and let it evolve

In 2024, I had already built a first prototype* of that space.

Select a word as you read and it becomes a card, linked to everything around it. Inspired by Vannevar Bush's Memex.

* Well before Andrej Karpathy proposed the LLM Wiki in April 2026

Recorded in the real product. Scenario: a musician built this canvas for a show, note by note, and Lino AI makes the live visual from their thinking.

It became Lino, one canvas that people and agents share.

They share context. They share memory.

Everything you put on the canvas, the agent can see. Nothing to paste in or explain again.

Every idea becomes a tool for thought.

Cards, links, images, sketches, tables and Sparks (small apps you build with AI), each one helping your intent take shape

The agent reads the same canvas you do.

So it can answer “what's my essay still missing?” from what you have built

Lino is a portable workstation.

Personal knowledge baseBuilt on connections, beyond backlinks
Infinite canvasRich-text editor, multi-view databases and whiteboard on one surface, the smoothest in its class
Personal agentAn AI that works inside your canvas
Project management with agentsTasks today, Lino Teams coming soon
Everything else, built inA calendar, a reader and a browser

Unlike most agents, Lino is

Built for humans

AI should make people better thinkers, not think for them

Augmenting human intellect was the dream of the computing pioneers.

Vannevar Bush, Ted Nelson, Douglas Engelbart, Alan Kay

I want Lino to be the best, and the last, interface between people and agents.

Lino launched at the end of September 2026.

macOS now, Windows in beta, iOS and the web app on the way

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Alan Kay

So I invented it, all of it.

Product philosophyIntent Engineering, human-centered AI, reducing cognitive friction, augmenting human intellect
Product strategyPositioning, target users, competitive landscape, roadmap
A system of conceptsConcept (Alias, Variable), Card, Sketch, Spark, Connection, Proposal
Agent engineeringContext engineering, harness engineering, user + canvas memory, tool and skill design, permission modes, human-in-the-loop review
Frontend engineeringUI/UX design, design system, infinite canvas, rich-text editor, table views
Backend engineeringCross-device sync, subscriptions
OnboardingFirst-run flow, guided tutorials, user activation
The websiteLanding page, documentation, blog, SEO, localization
Product analyticsEvent tracking, funnels, retention
The business modelFree trial, pricing, AI credits

About 3,000 commits since December 2025

ELino