😸 Not quite Pixar

Happy Monday legends and welcome back to another fine edition of the Leaderboard. In todays issue: An AI that wants to disrupt the animation scene, a tool that automatically makes a biography of you and your loved ones, a new social app minus the dopamine, and of course the top products over the weekend. Let's dive in.

Animate AI: AI generation tool for animated series 

When I saw Animate AI launch, I was stoked. The idea of creating mini Pixar-like movies had me eager to explore how my book or movie ideas could come to life in animation. I quickly signed up and submitted a prompt, excited to see the results. But that’s where the experience fell short—there was no indication of progress or how long it would take. Ten hours later, I had to abandon the process. The art and voiceovers were great, but the promise of animation didn’t quite deliver. This feels like a common theme with some AI tools: they focus on the “magic” but skip crucial user feedback or clear expectations. A little transparency—progress bars, tooltips, or troubleshooting tips—can make all the difference in retaining users.

Remento: AI biographer for loved ones

Remento makes it surprisingly easy to capture and preserve the stories that matter most. You invite loved ones, share photos, and pick questions from their thoughtfully designed question bank. From there, Remento handles everything—over the course of a year, they collect audio responses and turn them into a stunning hardcover biography filled with photos and memories. It’s a chance to uncover stories you never knew about, and the best part? You can hear your loved one tell them in their own voice—just scan the QR code on the page. It’s personal, heartfelt, and a little magical.

Mozi: A private social app for maintaining relationships

Ev Williams, co-founder of Twitter, is back with Mozi, a private social app that swaps likes and follower counts for something a little more… genuine. It’s all about sharing where you are and what you’re up to with your closest friends—no metrics, no noise, just connection. It sounds like the social media detox we all secretly want, but let’s be real: can we actually break free from the validation loops we’ve been trained to crave, or will Mozi join the pile of social apps that just couldn’t make the cut?