Motives

Consumer focus groups run by AI

2.1Score#686 of 999 agents#8 of 11 in Market researcher

Why it ranks #686

Motives, an AI market researcher from YC S25, ranks #686 of 999 AI agents and #8 of 11 in Market researcher, with a score of 2.1 of 10. Data as of 3 Oct 2026.

The score adds four parts, each 0 to 10, by weight. Every point comes from public evidence. How scoring works ·

Proof 3 × 30% 0.9
Scale 0 × 30% 0.0
Momentum 0 × 25% 0.0
Autonomy 8 × 15% 1.2
= 2.1

Proof
Do customers use it? 30% of the score
3
Claims named customers.
- +3
  Named customers
  “Our customers include some of the biggest consumer brands in the US and Europe - check out our case study about how Unilever’s recent acquisition Wild has been using Motives to test new packaging concepts.”
  Launch YC post · 30 Jul 2025
Not found: revenue or growth (+4), a customer result (+2), a customer count (+2), work done at scale (+2)
Scale
Is there a real company behind it? 30% of the score
0
Team size and funding not listed.
Not found: funding round in its news (+3)
Momentum
Is it shipping and growing now? 25% of the score
0
Nothing new in the last 6 months.
Not found: launch YC post in the last 6 months (+3), open roles on YC (+2), new traction claim in the last 6 months (+2), funding news in the last year (+2), a batch in the last year (it is YC Summer 2025) (+1)
Autonomy
How much of the job does it do on its own? 15% of the score
8
Autonomous worker: completes whole tasks; people handle exceptions.
- +8
  Level 3 of 4: Autonomous workerCompletes whole tasks; people handle exceptions.
What the model read
- Acts in other systems: 43% likely
- Finishes whole tasks: 57% likely
- Calls itself an agent: 98% likely
Level 3: Completes whole tasks; people handle exceptions.

About Motives

Motives is a team of AI agents that runs qualitative research projects for consumer brands: moderating and analyzing video interviews to help brands understand consumer preferences and test new ideas, in hours instead of weeks.