# About — Hanzo AI

> Hanzo AI started in 2016 and went through Techstars '17. The timeline of what we built early: blockchain, AI chat, MCP, computer control, and the Zen, Enso and Kai models.

Company history

# History ofHanzo AI.

Hanzo AI started in 2016 and went through Techstars ’17. In every era since, from blockchain to agents, we were early. Today we build the AI cloud.

[Read the timeline](#timeline)[The Zen of Hanzo](https://hanzo.ai/zen)

## The timeline

In every era we were there early, and we built what we needed ourselves.

- ### 2016 Hanzo AI starts.
- ### 2017 Techstars '17.Early on blockchain: smart contracts for token crowdsales.Hanzo joins Techstars '17
- ### 2023 ChatGPT-style AI chat with Zoo Labs.
- ### 2025 Early on agents: an MCP server with hundreds of tools, and computer control with Operative, both in March.The first open Zen models from Zoo Labs Foundation, then Hanzo Dev, the coding agent, and the Hanzo desktop app.OperativeMCPHanzo Dev
- ### 2026 Zen 4 in February, Zen 5 in May, Zen 6 and Zen 6 Flash in September. Zen 7 is in research preview.Enso in July and Kai in September, both Hanzo originals.Zen 4Enso

## The Zen of Hanzo

The principles the company argues from when a decision is close.

### Enable the Underdog

Enable others to win. Democratize technology so small businesses and startups can compete with industry giants.

### Data-Driven Everything

Let data be your guide. Embrace analytics and AI as the foundation of decision-making.

### Open Innovation

Be open, share often. Openness accelerates growth—both for the company and its community.

### Adaptability

Pivot with purpose. There is no failure, only feedback. Move quickly and strike in new directions when opportunity calls.

### Customer-Centric Growth

Coach clients like a sensei. Treat each client as a long-term partner and guide them to success.

### First Principles Thinking

See the invisible, do the impossible. Boil problems down to their essence and solve them in fundamentally better ways.

[Explore The Full Zen Manifesto](https://hanzo.ai/philosophy)

Principles in Practice

## The Sensei Method

The Zen of Hanzo is what we believe. The Sensei Method is what an engagement looks like — Sensei Group sits with your team and works the problem alongside them.

### Identify First-Principle Goals

Drill down to the fundamental objectives that drive real value.

### Rapid Prototyping

Build quickly, test assumptions, and iterate with purpose.

### Data-Driven Decisions

Measure impact, analyze patterns, and let insights guide strategy.

### Sensei Mentorship

Work directly with expert "senseis" to implement and refine your approach.

[Visit Sensei Group](https://sensei.group)

Sensei MethodStrategy → Execution

### The Impact of Sensei

Through the Sensei Method and Sensei Group, we've helped clients generate over $1 billion in revenue and take more than a hundred products to market.

$1B+Client Revenue

100+Product Launches

10+Years Experience

Company information, governance and investor contact are on [the investor page](https://hanzo.ai/investors).

Hanzo voice speech recognition uses NVIDIA Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3 ([https://huggingface.co/nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v3](https://huggingface.co/nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v3)) by NVIDIA, licensed under CC BY 4.0 ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)). The model was converted to ONNX and quantized to 8-bit integers by the k2-fsa sherpa-onnx project.