New Startup Goes Viral For $99 AI Friend Necklace

The new startup Friend is developing an AI wearable device, called Friend, and its pre-order campaign along with its controversial commercial and business decisions have gotten people’s attention.

Avi Schiffmann, Friend’s CEO, shared on X earlier this week the video to promote the new product, valued at $99, and expected to be shipped in the first quarter of 2025 to the US and Canadian markets “on a first come, first serve basis”, as stated on its website.

introducing friend. not imaginary.

order now at https://t.co/7kGiH5pQVK pic.twitter.com/qU58xNvX5v

— Avi (@AviSchiffmann) July 30, 2024

In the video, the company shows how the wearable works in different scenarios: on a “solo” hike, playing video games with friends, on a date. It listens and sends text messages to the wearer with comments and questions related to their immediate experiences. Users can tap the button to interact with the device.

Besides the commercial, the domain name also caught the attention of X users since Schiffmann said he paid $1.8 million for it. This purchase was later confirmed by the tech news website 404 Media and, according to TechCrunch, represents a large portion of the $2.5 million in funding recently raised by the company.

Schiffmann, a Harvard dropout, gained fame during the pandemic for creating an award-winning website to track the spread of COVID-19 when he was just 17 years old in 2020.

According to FastCompany, after his successful website, Schiffmann traveled solo to Japan and experienced isolation and loneliness while there. These emotions apparently led him to the idea of an AI companion that can go with you everywhere and listen to everything, which was first introduced last October.

Schiffmann’s post with the new video commercial has already reached over 21 million views on the social media platform. Users have shared different thoughts. “I appreciate you making it in the style of an A24 horror movie trailer, ensuring that I will never contemplate buying this,” said one user. “Good for you for trying something very different,” added another one.