Sidekick has work 'apps' running down the side of the browser window
Sidekick, the startup behind the “world’s first productivity browser”, claims to have raised $4 million to further the browser’s growth.
Sidekick strips out many of the distractions that afflict modern web browsers, including ads, notifications and personal websites during work hours. It’s designed to keep people focused on their work, particularly those who suffer from ADHD.
The browser was founded in 2021 by Dmitry Pushkarev, a former Amazon executive who himself suffers from ADHD. The company claims to have more than 100,000 users, including “founders, executives and managers” from companies such as Meta, Slack and Uber.
A different type of browser
Sidekick looks and behaves very differently to conventional browsers such as Google Chrome, even though it’s based on the same Chromium engine as Google’s browser.
The browser has a panel of “apps” running down the left-hand side of the screen, which is designed to host the web apps that people use during their working day, such as Slack, Gmail and Zoom. This, the company claims, is less distracting than flicking between different apps on the desktop or scrolling through lots of open tabs.
Aside from blocking ads and pop-ups, the browser has a “distraction blocker” that mutes all notifications, even including the little labels that tell you how many unread email messages you have waiting in your Gmail inbox. The distraction blocker also redirects you from sites that might steal attention away from your work—such as Facebook, X and Instagram–back to a work app. The user can add their own sites to the list of potential distractions.
Dmitry Pushkarev claims the browsers that most people use are unfit for work, whether you suffer from ADHD or not. “Browsers have never been designed with work in mind,” he told me in a recent interview for PC Pro magazine.
“In fact, they've been designed specifically to distract you or send you towards the search engines. The way they make money today is they’re being paid a fraction of search revenue. So, in fact, their incentive is very much to impair work and impair focus.”
“And even though for most people it’s just a minor nuisance, for myself and for maybe another 50 million people in the world, that’s actually quite a bit of pain, because you really cannot get anything done.”
The web browser, Pushkarev added, is “probably your most important application. This is the tool where you spend six, eight hours a day. And even small changes to this tool have a huge influence on your business.”
Fresh investment
The $4 million raised from a variety of investors will be used to further drive growth of Sidekick, which comes in several versions.
There’s a free version of the browser, which limits the number of apps you can install in the sidebar and doesn’t include ad blocking and other features. Then there’s a Pro version, which costs $8 per month (billed annually) which removes all the restrictions as well as unlocking extra features, such as the ability to use multiple accounts with apps such as Gmail.
Then there’s a ProTeam version designed for companies that can include pre-installed apps and offers a built-in VPN. The company claims around a fifth of its users are on this version of the browser.
