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3 minutes, 37 seconds
Wabi is Eugenia Kuyda’s newest startup, and it offers a personal AI assistant with a twist. Rather than presenting the assistant as a tool that simply responds to requests, Wabi is built around the idea of a companion: an AI designed to feel more personal and connected to the user. That shift gives the product a different emphasis from a conventional assistant. The focus is not only on getting help with tasks, but also on having an AI presence that can engage with someone in a more individual way.
Wabi’s concept places the relationship between a person and an AI at the centre of the experience. Its assistant is intended to be personal, making the way it interacts with a user part of the product itself. In that sense, the twist is not just that Wabi uses AI, but that it frames the assistant as something closer to a companion than a utility. The company’s offer combines the familiar promise of an AI assistant with a more intimate, human-centred approach to interaction.
Wabi is positioned to take advantage of an idea its co-founder Eugenia Kuyda had more than a decade ago: using artificial intelligence to create digital companions. The concept predates the startup and reflects a longer-running interest in how people might interact with AI in personal, everyday ways.
That earlier vision has become more practical as AI technology has advanced. Wabi is built around the possibility of creating companions that can offer users conversation and connection, rather than serving only as tools for completing tasks. Its positioning draws on the idea that people may want AI systems that feel more personal and responsive.
For Kuyda, Wabi represents a chance to pursue that longstanding concept in a new startup setting. The company is not simply introducing an entirely new idea; it is bringing an idea she had more than ten years ago into a moment when AI companions are gaining wider attention. In that sense, Wabi’s premise connects a past vision with current interest in conversational AI.
Wabi is the new company associated with Eugenia Kuyda, the founder best known for creating Replika, an AI chatbot designed to offer companionship. Her move to Wabi connects the startup to an idea she had explored before: using technology to help people form meaningful connections. Kuyda’s earlier work focused on giving users a conversational companion, while Wabi takes that interest in connection into a different setting.
Rather than presenting Wabi as a continuation of Replika, Kuyda has described it as a fresh venture built around bringing people together. The shared thread is her focus on relationships and the ways technology might support them. That makes her background relevant to understanding the startup, without suggesting that Wabi is simply another chatbot or a renamed version of her earlier company.
Kuyda’s role, then, is more than a name attached to the launch. Her earlier idea provides context for why Wabi centers on human connection, while the new company gives that idea a distinct form. Wabi reflects a shift from an AI companion for individuals toward a company whose purpose is to help people connect with one another.
Wabi’s personal-assistant offering puts into practice an idea Eugenia Kuyda has carried for years: using AI to create a companion that can become part of someone’s everyday life. Rather than presenting the concept only as a vision for the future, Wabi offers a service built around helping users with practical tasks and personal needs.
That positioning connects the startup’s utility to Kuyda’s broader interest in human-AI relationships. Wabi is designed to assist, but its premise also points to a more ongoing relationship than a tool used for a single task. The personal-assistant format gives the idea a concrete role: supporting users as they navigate day-to-day life, while making interaction with AI feel more personal.
In this sense, Wabi brings together two strands of Kuyda’s thinking: the usefulness of an assistant and the possibility of an AI presence that people can return to. The offering is not separate from her long-standing idea; it is a practical expression of it, framed around personal assistance.
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