Friend is an AI companion delivered through a wearable pendant, created by entrepreneur Avi Schiffmann. Worn around the neck as a small, rounded white device, it continuously listens to the wearer's surroundings and conversations and communicates back through a connected smartphone app, offering commentary, advice and small talk as an always-available digital companion.
The concept is to provide an ambient, persistent AI friend rather than a productivity assistant: the pendant captures context from daily life and the companion responds via the app, building an ongoing relationship over time. The product gained outsized attention partly because Schiffmann acquired the premium domain friend.com for about 1.8 million dollars and ran a roughly 1 million dollar New York subway advertising campaign across thousands of rail cars and posters.
Friend has raised around 8.5 million dollars from investors including Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, Morning Brew co-founder Austin Rief and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, and faced delays shipping the device. The launch drew significant public backlash, with critics questioning always-listening AI companionship and vandalizing its ads, making Friend a flashpoint in debates over AI's social role. It targets consumers seeking emotional companionship and casual conversation from an always-on AI.