Is screenpipe profitable in 2026?

No independent revenue or profitability figures exist for screenpipe. It sells a $400 lifetime desktop license and Business plans reportedly starting at $25/month, plus enterprise pilots, but all traction numbers (users, revenue) come from company statements, not audited financials, as of mid 2026.

Could AI replace screenpipe?

Screenpipe's core screen-and-audio capture function overlaps directly with Microsoft Recall and could be absorbed natively by OpenAI or Anthropic computer-use agents at zero marginal cost, since neither faces a structural barrier to adding persistent screen memory themselves, as of 2026.

Screenpipe is operated by Mediar, Inc., doing business as screenpipe, per its Terms of Service updated July 15, 2026. It is backed by Founders, Inc. since October 2024 and joined Y Combinator's Summer 2026 (S26) batch, founded by Louis Beaumont.

Who is screenpipe's biggest competitor?

Microsoft Recall is the closest incumbent, built into Copilot+ PCs, though it remained Windows-only and still allowed silent data extraction via exploit as of April 16, 2026. Meta acquired rival Limitless (formerly Rewind AI) in December 2025 and shut down its desktop app on December 19, 2025.

Did screenpipe raise funding?

Screenpipe announced it was raising a $5M round ("i3") in a February 5, 2025 blog post, pitching itself as 'the missing context layer for AI.' This figure is company-stated and was not independently confirmed by outside press as of the brief date.

What changed with screenpipe's open-source license?

On June 10, 2026, screenpipe switched from a fully permissive open-source license to a custom 'Screenpipe Commercial License.' Personal, nonprofit, educational and research use stays free, but companies now must pay to use it commercially, according to the company's own GitHub repository.

YC Summer 2026 · United States

screenpipe

Local-first app that records your screen and audio 24/7 to feed AI agents memory.

Losing its protection

Assessed 27 July 2026 · Evidence as of 27 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 27 July 2026 · Checkable from Q4 2026 to Q2 2027 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Enterprise pilot conversion window closes: do design-partner pilots turn into paid, multi-machine contracts

The call

Screenpipe sits in the gap between a leaky Microsoft feature and labs building memory into their own agents, with its regulated-buyer pitch still unproven.

Screenpipe is a tool that continuously records what's on your screen and what you hear, so AI assistants can see and understand what you are doing. The challenge: Microsoft is already shipping a similar feature called Recall (though it has had privacy problems), and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are building AI agents that could easily add this ability themselves without needing Screenpipe. The one thing that could save Screenpipe is if companies in regulated industries, like finance or healthcare, decide they need a local, auditable version they can control and trust, and sign long-term contracts for it during pilot tests over the next 12 months. If that does not happen, Screenpipe will likely become just another feature that bigger companies absorb into their own products.

Why

AI pressure: OpenAI and Anthropic computer-use agents. Frontier labs are adding native agent memory and screen context, which could make a separate capture layer redundant. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Microsoft Recall. Recall ships the same always-on capture idea inside Windows itself, though it stays Windows-only and Copilot+ hardware gated. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Being local-only, cross-platform, and auditable for security-conscious buyers Recall and cloud agents cannot easily match.

What would change this call

Screenpipe's Q4 2026 to Q2 2027 enterprise pilots convert to paid multi-machine renewals. Shows whether the regulated-buyer wedge is a real business or evaporates post-trial.
Community reaction (forks, GitHub star/contributor trend) after June 2026 commercial-license switch. Shows whether the open-source distribution moat survives the licensing change.
OpenAI or Anthropic ships native persistent screen-context memory in their agents. Shows the model-threat predator is closing the gap Screenpipe depends on.

Key numbers

Microsoft Recall still allows silent data extraction via exploit (2026-04-16)
Meta acquired Limitless and shut its Rewind desktop app (2025-12-19)
Screenpipe confirmed member of YC S26 batch (2026-05-14)

Named risks

Core capture feature could be bundled free by Microsoft, Apple, OpenAI or Anthropic. Severity: high
24/7 recording of screens and audio, including passwords and financial data, creates regulatory and liability exposure. Severity: high
Enterprise pilots (30 to 60 day deployments) may not convert to paid, multi-machine renewals. Severity: high
June 2026 commercial license change could fragment the open-source community and reduce distribution. Severity: medium
Nearly all traction and revenue figures are vendor-claimed and unverified by independent sources. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Microsoft Recall	contesting	Recall stayed Windows-only, Copilot+-gated, and still leaked data via exploit as of 2026-04-16
Limitless (Rewind AI)	gaining on	Meta acquired Limitless and shut down its Rewind desktop app on 2025-12-19, removing a peer
OpenAI and Anthropic computer-use agents	losing to	Frontier labs face no structural barrier to adding native screen memory to their own agents

Questions people ask

Is screenpipe profitable in 2026?: No independent revenue or profitability figures exist for screenpipe. It sells a $400 lifetime desktop license and Business plans reportedly starting at $25/month, plus enterprise pilots, but all traction numbers (users, revenue) come from company statements, not audited financials, as of mid 2026.
Could AI replace screenpipe?: Screenpipe's core screen-and-audio capture function overlaps directly with Microsoft Recall and could be absorbed natively by OpenAI or Anthropic computer-use agents at zero marginal cost, since neither faces a structural barrier to adding persistent screen memory themselves, as of 2026.
Who owns screenpipe?: Screenpipe is operated by Mediar, Inc., doing business as screenpipe, per its Terms of Service updated July 15, 2026. It is backed by Founders, Inc. since October 2024 and joined Y Combinator's Summer 2026 (S26) batch, founded by Louis Beaumont.
Who is screenpipe's biggest competitor?: Microsoft Recall is the closest incumbent, built into Copilot+ PCs, though it remained Windows-only and still allowed silent data extraction via exploit as of April 16, 2026. Meta acquired rival Limitless (formerly Rewind AI) in December 2025 and shut down its desktop app on December 19, 2025.
Did screenpipe raise funding?: Screenpipe announced it was raising a $5M round ("i3") in a February 5, 2025 blog post, pitching itself as 'the missing context layer for AI.' This figure is company-stated and was not independently confirmed by outside press as of the brief date.
What changed with screenpipe's open-source license?: On June 10, 2026, screenpipe switched from a fully permissive open-source license to a custom 'Screenpipe Commercial License.' Personal, nonprofit, educational and research use stays free, but companies now must pay to use it commercially, according to the company's own GitHub repository.

Timeline

2026-07-15Terms of Service updated with mass-arbitration clause
2026-07-14Formal Launch YC campaign repositions product around agents
2026-06-10Switched to custom Screenpipe Commercial License, ending free commercial use
2026-05-29Released alpha AI PII redaction model, claimed 9ms latency
2026-05-14Joined Y Combinator Summer 2026 (S26) batch
2025-12-19Meta shut down Rewind desktop app after acquiring Limitless
2025-12-05Meta acquired AI device startup Limitless (formerly Rewind AI)
2025-03Launched Terminator/Operator desktop-automation SDK
2025-02-05Announced fundraising post targeting $5M round
2024-10Became backed by Founders, Inc.
2024-08Launched Windows desktop app with native OCR

Revision history

27 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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