See Circles opens private beta for local discovery software

See Circles has launched a private beta in Los Angeles for software that aims to surface a smaller set of relevant, reachable people, places, events and opportunities. The company is betting that reducing search and sifting will make everyday discovery faster and more actionable.

Why it matters: - See Circles is trying to change how people discover nearby opportunities by doing more of the filtering upfront. - The private beta could show whether a discovery tool is more useful when it presents a few relevant options instead of another feed or directory. - The company is also measuring success by what happens after discovery, not just by time spent in the app.

What happened: - See Circles opened a private beta on September 1, 2026, from Los Angeles. - The software is designed to surface fewer, more relevant and reachable possibilities across people, communities, events, places, offers and experiences. - The company invited journalists and selected partners to request a private demonstration and founder briefing during the beta period.

The details: - The product is built around the idea that software can do more of the first-pass work that users usually handle themselves. - See Circles aims to help people find opportunities they did not know to search for. - Avi Shaked and Drew Mohar, the company’s co-founders, developed the idea during a cross-country drive. - Shaked realized he may have been passing remarkable places and experiences without knowing they were there. - Mohar said search works when people already know what they want, but not when they do not know something exists. - See Circles uses geography to answer whether a possibility is actually within reach. - The company wants to make a few worthwhile possibilities easier to see, understand and act on. - Users decide what they share with See Circles. - Mohar said the company aims to use enough context to be useful while still letting people act, ignore, correct or redirect the experience. - Businesses, venues and organizers are held to the same relevance standard. - An offer or experience has to add value to the moment rather than simply buy attention. - The private beta will test whether See Circles can reduce searching and sifting and make the path from discovery to action easier in everyday life. - See Circles is also testing whether success should be measured by downstream experiences, connections and discoveries instead of screen time.

Between the lines: - See Circles is positioning itself against the logic of infinite feeds and broad directories. - The pitch is that discovery software should behave more like a filter and less like an attention stream. - The user-control angle may help the company balance usefulness with privacy concerns around context-based software. - The focus on real-world outcomes suggests See Circles wants to prove value beyond app engagement metrics.

What's next: - The private beta will determine whether the product can consistently surface better starting points and reduce decision fatigue. - See Circles plans to use beta feedback to refine how it connects context, relevance and action. - Journalists and selected partners can request a private demo and founder briefing during the beta period.

The bottom line: - See Circles is betting that better discovery comes from showing less, but showing the right few things.