"Fabian Kamberi, CEO and co-founder of the Berlin-based AI gaming startup Born, thinks the current AI companions on the market are designed to be exploitative and geared towards isolating users through one-to-one relationships with AI chatbots. "It feels like it fuels the loneliness epidemic, instead of making it more fun and giving users the opportunity to make their lives better," Kamberi told TechCrunch. The future of AI companions, he says, is about shared experiences that strengthen real-world bonds."
"Born's flagship AI product is an app where users can raise, play mini-games with, and co-parent a cute virtual pet named Pengu. Think of it as a generative AI-powered Tamagatchi or Neopet, but one that requires collaboration with another human, like a friend or romantic partner. It's a freemium app where users can pay for a Pengu Pass subscription for additional features."
Born positions AI companions as social, cooperative experiences that bolster real-life bonds rather than foster isolation. The company offers Pengu, a generative-AI virtual pet that users raise, play mini-games with, and co-parent alongside another human to encourage shared engagement. The app follows a freemium model with an optional Pengu Pass subscription. Born reports more than 15 million global users but has not disclosed paid-conversion figures. The company plans additional characters and a new social AI product for young people. Born pivoted from a teen social app called Slay and has raised $15 million Series A, $25 million total from investors including Accel and Tencent.
Read at TechCrunch
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]