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Friend re-launches its AI pendant with a speaker that talks to you, for twice the price

Friend re-launches its AI pendant with a speaker that talks to you, for twice the price
The Verge Thursday 30 July 2026, 16:33 UTC By David Imel 1 min read
Key Points

Do you remember Friend? The Friend that launched an AI pendant, spent $1.8 million of its $2.5 million to acquire friend.com, and plastered the NYC subway with ads promoting artificial companionship? Yeah well, if you didn't remember, Friend is back.

Do you remember Friend? The Friend that launched an AI pendant, spent $1.8 million of its $2.5 million to acquire friend.com, and plastered the NYC subway with ads promoting artificial companionship?

Yeah well, if you didn't remember, Friend is back. And now, it's twice the price.

Introducing friend. pic.twitter.com/T5vUCj7iqv

- friend (@friend) July 30, 2026

This morning, Friend launched a new ad showing two people talking to their Friend pendants about very personal life problems. It didn't say it explicitly, but the ad showcased a new feature the pendant now includes: a speaker. Before, Friend would only message back to you, but now, …

Read the full story at The Verge.

AI (ORG) Friend (PERSON) NYC (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Verge Read original →

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