Startup Friend previews a $99 AI pendant with an always-on microphone that's designed to provide the wearer with companionship, set to ship in January 2025

The latest attempt at an AI-powered wearable is an always-listening pendant. But it doesn't help you be more productive, it just keeps you company.

Wired 2024-07-31 Boone Ashworth

Context & Ripple Effects

Friend positions its pendant differently from the $99 Limitless Pendant built for meeting transcription and summaries: its stated job is companionship rather than workplace productivity.

That distinction matters because later coverage of always-on wearables found their utility inseparable from discomfort for people nearby, while Friend’s own later hands-on suggested the product’s commentary could be unhelpful in real-world use.

First-order effects

Friend enters the AI-wearable market with a $99 pendant whose primary proposition is an ambient, personal relationship rather than notes or task assistance.
Wearers—and people around them—must contend with an always-on microphone, making social acceptability and perceived usefulness immediate tests of the device.

Second-order effects

Competing wearable makers gain a clearer product-positioning split: productivity devices can emphasize transcription and actionable insights, while companion products must demonstrate sustained conversational value.
Always-listening designs intensify privacy and consent concerns across the category, raising the importance of clear recording behavior and user controls.

Third-order effects

If ambient companions gain traction, AI wearables may compete less on discrete app features and more on whether users accept a persistent agent in everyday social settings.
The category’s long-term viability will hinge on companion governance: devices that affect bystanders need norms and safeguards that make continuous sensing socially tolerable.

The trend: This is part of the shift from task-oriented AI gadgets toward ambient, embodied agents that seek a continuous role in users’ daily lives.

Discussion

@mergesort Joe Fabisevich on threads
Maybe they should have asked a friend if this was a good idea.
@lanceulanoff Lance Ulanoff on threads
Clearly we're not ready to stop trying to make AI wearables a thing
@dinokuznik Dino Kužnik on threads
Another failed product incoming ... just stop already ffs
@jendiagammon @jendiagammon on threads
Lol no thank you! We science fiction writers have been warning everybody about this sort of stuff for decades. https://www.wired.com/... (some really telling quotes in this article as well)
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social Jeff Jarvis on mastodon
This is sad. Not about society—I seriously doubt it will succeed if ever get shipped—but about the industry, inventors, and investors who could think this is a good idea. — https://www.friend.com/...
@avischiffmann Avi on x
introducing friend. not imaginary. order now at https://friend.com/ [video]
@evisdrenova Evis Drenova on x
wait this dude actually spent $1.8M out of $2.5M raised on a domain name for a pre-launch hardware device? that is actually fucking insane and i would be furious if i was an investor [image]
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
@AviSchiffmann Wait this isn't a skit?
@emollick Ethan Mollick on x
👀There has been lots of speculation on the psychological effect of AI chatbots, so this is big: “In a series of tightly controlled and high-powered experimental studies, we find compelling evidence that AI companions can indeed reduce loneliness.” Paper: https://arxiv.org/... [im…
@loomdart @loomdart on x
think people really underestimate this ai waifus, ai sexbots etc are not PMF PMF is people having something they can talk to, and (sometimes worryingly so seeing as how it seems current encryption levels of ai chatbot data are.. not great) trust
@nlevin Noah Levin on x
@daniel__designs Yeah I tend to agree — no shade to Avi as I'm always pro experimenting and trying things out, but I think I prefer a world where AI feels more like a tool that supports (e.g. “bicycle for the mind") than an active entity that lives (e.g. “personal assistant or fr…
@pitdesi Sheel Mohnot on x
re: this $1.8M purchase of friend .com- it wasn't up front, I think it's fine We've structured deals where the co puts small $ upfront & pays over time, if the co doesn't work, domain goes back to orig owner. Portcos Kin, Agree & Charlie bought .coms at seed (for much lower $)
@oyhsu Oliver Hsu on x
I am so excited by what @AviSchiffmann has brought to life, and very proud of my friend for how far he's come since this was just an idea — towards a new era of HCI that is more human, more ubiquitous, and more friendly. I've pre-ordered mine. Can't wait to meet Friend. [image]
@willbrownai Will Brown on x
“It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” -Caesar You've come a long way from looking like a terrorist with this thing 🥹. Proud of you, my friend.human! [image]
@dinvesting Elliot Silver on x
It looks like https://friend.com/ was acquired via https://anything.com/ for $1,887,843, according to this transaction screenshot from @Escrow_com. Based on the “DNH Service” status, it would appear to be a payment plan deal.
@yacinemtb Kache on x
branding and domain is 100% worth it, avi did the right thing. what do you think he should have spent his money on? dips shit software engineers that can't code themselves out of a paper bag?
@major_katsuragi @major_katsuragi on x
listen I hate to be that guy again, but like... why is this not an app... if I literally have to take my phone out to use it at all... ? [image]
@reambraden Braden Ream on x
What I love so much about this is the audacity of the swing - it was all or nothing They spent $1.8m on a domain, and likely ~$200k on a Sandwich ad - they only raised $2.4m... Means this was an all or nothing swing. And - they hit! Someone will do the next round. What a swing
@walterkirn Walter Kirn on x
Someday, once it knows you and once you trust it, it will tell you who to kill
@avischiffmann Avi on x
@MKBHD @adamlisagor I'd view the existing standalone ai devices as parodies of friend. it's controversial, yes, but at least I have a real use case.
@suhail @suhail on x
Always support builders who ship 🚢
@peer_rich @peer_rich on x
day to day— weird ngl for solo-traveling: epic been solo traveling for almost 5 years and definitely felt the hardcore loneliness every now and then kudos Avi, lets go!
@chronotope Aram Zucker-Scharff on x
Not only has society failed all of us by letting these unethical scamware devices use up our precious resources pointlessly but also it has failed the people who come up with them in significant sad ways. [image]
@mkbhd Marques Brownlee on x
@adamlisagor @AviSchiffmann I think the vibe of the vide combined with the idea of the product itself like a well done parody of existing standalone AI devices
@nic__carter Nic Carter on x
@evisdrenova investor here - i'm fine with it. best of luck getting access to angel rounds in the future :)
@keatoninglis Keaton on x
> Raised $1.9M > Spent $1.8M of it on a domain > Built a bluetooth microphone that listens to everything that you say and sends it to a ChatGPT wrapper > Dystopia activated I hate it here
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
After the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1, comes an AI hardware startup whose biggest innovation is getting a great domain name for $1.8M. This category is a smoking hot crater.
@nic__carter Nic Carter on x
@cozymaximalist I initially invested because i thought it would be a great productivity tool (something you could query about contents of IRL meetings). that's not the current focus, but i'm still interested in how the companionship approach works out. I think AI wearables are fa…
@jsngr Jordan Singer on x
proud supporter of @AviSchiffmann and https://friend.com/ [image]
@thegarrettscott Garrett Scott on x
@AviSchiffmann Congrats! This is genius btw, will make it feel like a companion, not a thin client to something sitting in a server. [image]
@avischiffmann Avi on x
@BenjaminDEKR @evisdrenova its 100% worth it because it makes me happy
@michaelmiraflor Michael J. Miraflor on x
Legend. This is the equivalent to burning the boats after landing on shore. It has to work. There is no turning back. The investors can only watch the flames in awe from a distance. The definition of irrational belief in what you are building. YOLO etc etc etc.
@louisanslow Louis Anslow on x
Everyone is going to be SO snarky about ‘Friend’ AI companion. However, research just corroborated the notion AI companions can reduce loneliness via @emollick Paper: https://arxiv.org/... [image]
@avischiffmann Avi on x
@evisdrenova its on a payment plan ;). in reality a more reasonable expense but yeah thats the full price, and its 100% worth it. you save so much money in marketing in the long run
@daniel__designs Daniel Destefanis on x
Might catch flak here but outside of the aesthetic and craft here being top notch, I have a growing concern that pretending AI cares about you is a dangerous slippery slope and an ethically grey area. What we need is more human connection
@binarybits Timothy B. Lee on x
I've never wanted a product to fail more than this one.
@avischiffmann Avi on x
Thank you for the entertainment
@josephfcox Joseph Cox on x
New from 404 Media: so that new AI ‘Friend’ company? It appears to have spent most of its funding on the domain https://friend.com/ ($1.8 million out of $2.5 million raised) according to a screenshot we got https://www.404media.co/... [image]
@kylebrussell Kyle Russell on x
What if your diary was always with you and engaging in experiences as you encounter them
@aravsrinivas Aravind Srinivas on x
Avi has put a lot of thought into what an AI consumer hardware device that acts as your friend should look like and function. Excited to try it out. [image]
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
I'd get a Friend. Seems cool.
@kennethnym Kenneth on x
this says everything u need to know about the product [image]
@avischiffmann Avi on x
What's it like to build a friend? [image]
@maryarchived Mary Morgan on x
you should read up on this avi schiffman guy, because he seems completely insane. at 17 years old, he launched the first website for globally tracking covid cases, which was so widely celebrated that dr. fauci himself presented him an award for it. now he's launching “friend” [im…
@thomasschulzz Thomas Schulz on x
Watching Avi take Friend from an idea we were jamming on our couch about to almost full scale production has been a beautiful sight to see. He knows what people want and has the willpower to see it through. [image]
@nikitabier Nikita Bier on x
@evisdrenova I've bought plenty of domains on payment plans. Usually 5 year term and the domain tends to increase the valuation on the subsequent raise, so net-net investors win.
@blader Siqi Chen on x
honestly $1.8M is a reasonable price for a domain like https://friend.com/ (we did not pay that much for https://runway.com/ or cfo dot ai)
@deliprao @deliprao on x
This is a clever hedge if I have seen one, clearly friendly to the investors and endorsed by them (you don't get to spend that much without blessing): Park bulk of the investment in a non-depreciating asset so it derisks investment that also creates a promise of an SEO play for
@pronounced_kyle Christian Keil on x
@AviSchiffmann The moment where she reaches for her friend, but decides to stay in the moment... fucking brilliant
r/privacy r on reddit
Your new AI Friend is almost ready to meet you
r/LateStageCapitalism r on reddit
Your new AI Friend is almost ready to meet you
r/redscarepod r on reddit
These guys actually have no good ideas at all do they
r/aiwars r on reddit
Wear This AI Friend Around Your Neck
r/artificial r on reddit
Wear This AI Friend Around Your Neck
r/agi r on reddit
Wear This AI Friend Around Your Neck

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