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

Friend is trying again. The company behind the AI pendant that once spent $1.8 million of its $2.5 million funding buying the domain friend.com, then blanketed New York City subways with ads for artificial companionship, just dropped a new commercial. Two people are shown pouring out personal problems to their pendants, and this time, the little gadget actually talks back.

That's the headline change. Previously, Friend would only respond via text message. Now it has a speaker built in, so it can hold something closer to an actual conversation. Apparently that upgrade is worth quite a lot, because the pendant that used to sell for $129 now costs $249. There's also a new $10-per-month subscription if you want the device to remember what you told it beyond the current 30-day limit.

The timing is notable. About nine months ago, a sizable protest against Friend took place in New York, with demonstrators pushing back on the idea of leaning on technology for companionship. Friend was an easy target given how much money it had thrown at subway advertising in the city. Founder Avi Schiffmann didn't dodge it either — he shared an image promoting the protest and turned up to it in person.

Now Schiffmann is calling this relaunch "Friend 2.0" in a tweet, even though the product page still just says "Friend." No version number, no fanfare beyond the new speaker and subscription tier. Whether doubling the price and adding a voice will change how people feel about strapping an AI companion to their chest remains to be seen, but the company clearly isn't backing down from the bet.