- A Friend is a personal, physical AI companion that provides reliable support in everyday life – calm, present and private.
- No screens, no ads or data collection, just simple, natural interaction designed to feel human.
- The platform is designed to be there for you as and when you need it.
Website: https://www.a-friend.ai/
Tell Us About A Friend
A Friend is a physical companion designed to be present throughout your day. It can be programmed to be activated by your chosen name. It can wake you up, walk you through your to-dos for the day, and help you prioritise. It can accompany you in the kitchen, talking you through ingredients, recipes, and cooking timings. It can relax with you in the evening, recommending TV shows and movies, or just chatting back and forth with you about whatever is on your mind.
At night, it is your alarm clock, radio, and speaker system for your wind-down playlist or audiobook. Many are already using LLMs like ChatGPT for general conversation. A Friend can serve that function in a private, real-life setting.
It has been created by serial entrepreneur and product builder Marco Riedesser, who has a track record of founding and scaling hardware technology ventures. He is best known as the founder of CONTROLLINO, which created one of the first industrial PLC platforms fully compatible with the Arduino ecosystem, used by engineers and makers worldwide.
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What Makes A Friend Unique?
A Friend comprises a number of unique features. First is the ability to remember. Most of us already communicate with 10+ apps on our phones throughout the day – reminders, calendar notifications, work messages, to-do lists, email alerts, etc. However, once the day ends, everything returns to zero.
A Friend listens and compiles across the board and holds the thread in one place, learning and remembering repeated asks and behaviours. It is also totally customisable; different shells and accessories are available to suit your preferences. It communicates in 22+ languages and is compatible with both cloud-based and local AI models.
Further, it is agentic and able to carry out acts on your behalf. Directly booking calendar meetings, deferring Notion notifications, drafting text messages, and even feeding back on how you sounded or delivered on a certain call. It is there to support, listen, and make life easier.
Is There A Market For A Friend?
AI is everywhere. But most of it isn’t built around people. AI at the moment is designed to work, not feel personal and present. What’s missing is intelligence that adapts to individuals, that is shaped around the user.
During his research before developing A Friend, Marco discovered a significant demand for AI emotional support hardware in Eastern markets, although the quality of the models produced was lacking. Marco believes it is inevitable that that appetite will transfer to the Western world in due course, and that A Friend is best positioned to capitalise.
Where Can We Find A Friend?
The team is gearing up towards a crowdfunding campaign to launch the product, targeting a €500K raise. You can follow the progress here: https://www.indiegogo.com/en/projects/a-friend/a-friend?ref=homepage-discover-new-on-the-platform-upcoming_1. It will cost €299 and initially be available via IndieGogo, then shortly afterwards via the A Friend website.
