Substrate is a platform for building compound AI systems, officially described as providing optimized components and concise abstractions. Its website currently mainly introduces a product called Zo: a cloud computer that can run 24/7 and is intended for business and daily life use.
In terms of purpose, Zo is positioned as a personal cloud computer and personal agent runtime environment. The official statement says Zo is the de facto original OpenClaw, with more features, launched in June 2025, and inspired Peter Steinberger. It works out of the box, requires no terminal configuration, and does not need a Mac Mini or VPS.
In terms of main capabilities, Zo has the latest AI models built in for chatting, generating media content, and audio transcription; it is a fairly capable agent runtime framework with a large number of built-in tools and can easily connect to the various tools users use. Users can connect AI subscription services such as Codex to drive the Zo agent, or bring their own API keys to access any LLM provider. The official statement also mentions that, if needed, Hermes or OpenClaw can be run within Zo, while the Zo agent itself already has the same or even more capabilities. Because Zo is a personal cloud, users can use it as a hosting environment to host content on their own controllable personal cloud infrastructure.
In terms of usage, the official statement explains that Zo offers a 14-day free trial of AI and the computer. During the trial period, a limited set of AI models can be used, subject to staged usage limits, and the computer sleeps when idle. After 14 days, the chat and ordinary computer access provided by Zo end. User files are still retained and can be retrieved: workspace owners can use up to seven one-hour recovery sessions to download files, or send an email to help@zocomputer.com, and the support team will prepare a ZIP archive of the workspace files. Upgrading to a paid plan restores ordinary computer access. The official statement specifically points out that credits and connected AI providers do not extend computer access; see its pricing page for more information.
In terms of applicable scenarios, the official examples include running cloud work related to personal business and life, building powerful applications, and viewing what ordinary users have built on Zo. In addition, the official site provides an application channel to become a Zo ambassador, which can provide hands-on support, AI credits, etc.; new users can also join its Discord community to learn from the community and the Zo team.
In terms of privacy and philosophy, the official statement declares that it will never selluser data, does not allow advertising, and will not use users' work results to train AI models; users' files and projects in Zo are hosted in their own personal cloud. The official statement says this approach is different from SaaS, which stores data on centralized servers, uses complex and proprietary architectures, and locks in users' work. Its goal is to create a self-hosted experience simple enough for anyone to use. Its official mission is to enable everyone on Earth to harness the unlimited potential of cloud computing, and with AI, bring the internet back to the masses.
In terms of team and background, Zo was created by co-founders Rob (Substack's first engineer) and Ben (an early Stripe engineer), and is backed by the Collisons (Stripe), Guillermo Rauch (Vercel), and many friends.
In terms of limitations, apart from the trial and access termination rules, the official page does not provide more technical details, paid pricing, a specific list of available models, or system requirements; this content is not yet available.
