Friend, an AI companion company, unveiled its AI-powered pendant on Tuesday. The neck-worn AI hardware, shaped like a companion, is still being worked on. Avi Schiffmann, CEO of Friend, said the company spent $1.8 million on its domain name.

The AI necklace, also named Friend, was originally ideated as a productivity-based device designed to help the user keep track of information and tasks. Schiffman, a Harvard dropout who built a Webby Award-winning website to track COVID-19, has named the device Tab with a task-oriented goal in mind.

However, the company shifted its aim from productivity-oriented AI hardware to an AI chatbot that acts as a companion or a friend. Schiffmann raised $2.5 million in funding at a $50 million valuation to start the company. The device connects to a user’s phone through Bluetooth and always listens to them.

When the button on the device is pressed and talked to, it will send an in-app response to the user’s speech via text. However, as the device is always active and listening, it can send messages without a trigger. The hardware is an orb-shaped glowing gadget that can be clipped onto clothes aside from its necklace form.

Although Friend is always listening, it does not store transcripts or audio. If the device is lost, all the data will be lost, emulating an aspect of a real friendship.

While the sole function of the device is to act as a friend, Schiffmann said to The Verge that it is a well-performing brainstorming buddy who is also “super intelligent.” It supports, validates and encourages the user’s ideas. While the device is still in the prototype stage, Schiffmann plans on shipping the first 30,000 devices in January 2025.

The gadget will cost $99 with no further subscription fee. It is closer to AI models such as Character.AI and Replika than information and task-based models such as Perplexity and ChatGPT. a16z-backed Rewind is also working on an AI pendant named Limitless. Friend aims to be a more fun-based device rather than an AI model focusing on boosting efficiency.