diff --git a/ui-gpui/src/state.rs b/ui-gpui/src/state.rs
index 4d1e9ea..d0c0f93 100644
--- a/ui-gpui/src/state.rs
+++ b/ui-gpui/src/state.rs
@@ -194,9 +194,11 @@ pub struct AppState {
 impl AppState {
     /// Create initial state with demo projects.
     pub fn new_demo() -> Self {
+        let mut p1 = Project::new("agent-orchestrator", "~/code/ai/agent-orchestrator", 0);
+        p1.agent.status = AgentStatus::Running; // Triggers pulsing dot animation
         Self {
             projects: vec![
-                Project::new("agent-orchestrator", "~/code/ai/agent-orchestrator", 0),
+                p1,
                 Project::new("quanta-discord-bot", "~/code/quanta-discord-bot", 1),
             ],
             focused_project_idx: Some(0),