BarberGPT
Shut DownYour personal AI barber
AI-powered hairstyle visualization tool that lets users preview different haircuts by uploading a photo.
About
BarberGPT is an AI-powered application that enables users to visualize different hairstyles on themselves before committing to a cut. Users simply upload a photo and the platform generates realistic previews of various haircut styles โ from bald fades and buzz cuts to man buns, dreadlocks, and curly styles. Optimized primarily for men's hair, the tool targets both consumers wanting to experiment risk-free and barbershops/salons looking to upgrade their consultation process beyond outdated brochures. Founded by Praneeth Guduguntla and Arman Rafati, two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign CS graduates who met freshman year, BarberGPT gained 6,000+ users and generated 13,000+ hairstyle previews in its first month. The founders later pivoted to Glimmer (YC W24), an AI-powered search tool for massive PDFs, which raised $500K from Y Combinator. BarberGPT's website remains live but the founders have moved on to Glimmer full-time.
DailyDropout Take
BarberGPT caught our attention as a clever, niche application of generative AI targeting the massive $50B barbershop industry. While the founders ultimately pivoted to Glimmer (YC W24) โ an AI PDF search tool that earned Y Combinator backing โ BarberGPT demonstrated their ability to ship fast and find product-market fit quickly, gaining thousands of users in its first month.
Discovery signal: Viral consumer AI app with 6K+ users in first month, UIUC CS founders with Palantir/Meta/Mercury pedigree, targeting underserved $50B barbershop market
What Makes Them Unique
BarberGPT was purpose-built specifically for men's hairstyle visualization, unlike general beauty apps that treat hair as one of many features. Its focus on the barbershop workflow โ replacing brochures with AI-generated previews during consultations โ addressed a specific pain point in a $50B industry.
6,000+
Users
13,000+
Hair Generations
1 month
Time to Traction
Target Markets
Founders
Praneeth Guduguntla
Co-Founder
Computer Science graduate from UIUC. Previously built computer vision widgets at Palantir and launched the first AI video editing tool for Facebook Reels at Meta. Now CEO of Glimmer (YC W24).
Arman Rafati
Co-Founder
Computer Science & Economics graduate from UIUC. Previously worked on corporate cards at Mercury, BNPL debit cards at Affirm, and helped launch AWS AppRunner. Now CTO of Glimmer (YC W24).