Robot model
Friend
Friend is an always-listening wearable AI companion pendant (a necklace) made by the startup Friend, founded by Avi Schiffmann.
- Manufacturer
- Friend
- Form factor
- wearable
- Maturity
- commercial
- Lifecycle
- active
- Deployments
- 1
- Website
- friend.com ↗
The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Friend, a wearable by Friend (commercial): 1 verified deployment on record. 7 sources back the record.
Overview
Friend is an always-listening wearable AI companion pendant (a necklace) made by the startup Friend, founded by Avi Schiffmann. Unlike the productivity recorders in this cohort, it is an emotional-companion device that texts the wearer. It is shipping to the US, Canada, and EU at $129 (it launched as a $99 preorder in 2024).
A roughly $1M New York subway advertising campaign in late 2025 became a flashpoint for public backlash against consumer AI. Friend raised about $2.5M at a $50M valuation (led by Caffeinated Capital, with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas as an individual angel); the friend.com domain was purchased for about $1.8M. The registry records it at commercial maturity, correcting the dispatch's preliminary research/promised label: it is verifiably shipping.
Verified vs. claimed
- Maturity stage
- commercial(Commercially deployed with revenue-generating operations.)
- Sources on file
- View all sources →
Key facts
Price
Form factor
Funding
Status
Pricing model
Specs
Notes
Battery
Pricing
Function
Form Factor
Data & sources
Press releases
1
News coverage
2
Web sources
4
7 sources backing this record.View all →
Availability and pricing
- Availability
- Not disclosed
- Price
- $129 (actual sale price)as of 2024-07-31
- Units in field
- Not disclosed
- Sales model
- Not disclosed
- Lead time
- Not disclosed
Pricing
One-time purchase
$129 USDactual sale priceas of 2024-07-31
Price status: actual-sale-price = real published price at time of sale; manufacturer-target = vendor target, not yet realized; analyst-estimate = third-party projection, not a vendor figure; not-announced = no price on record.
Prices verified as of Jul 31, 2024
Deployments (1)
- Friend at New Yorkoperational
Friend AI pendant: honest-absence on meaningful deployment.
Friend on the deployment map
View the global mapWhere Friend is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Verified media addedVerifiedJun 5, 2026
Friend AI companion pendant
- Record createdJun 3, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Price point recorded: $129VerifiedJul 31, 2024
Actual sale price
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedJun 1, 2024
at New York
Deployment-verified media (1)
Friend's reveal trailer for its AI companion pendant. An always-listening device that texts rather than speaks, and acts as a phone companion.
From deployment: New York
Safety record
No incidents on record for Friend.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Sources (7)
- https://friend.com/?page=hardware
- https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/30/friend-is-an-ai-companion-backed-by-founders-of-solana-perplexity-and-zfellows/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friend_(product)
- https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/friend-is-a-dollar99-ai-necklace-that-wants-to-help-you-remake-the-movie-her
- https://decrypt.co/242629/friend-necklace-avi-schiffmann
- https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/tech/friend-ai-device-backlash-ceo-avi-schiffmann
- https://www.wired.com/story/friend-ai-pendant/
Common questions
What is Friend?
How much does Friend cost?
Is Friend actually deployed in the real world?
Who makes Friend?
Where is Friend deployed?
Can you buy Friend?
What are alternatives to Friend?
How does Friend compare to Synchron Stentrode?
Is Friend a top wearable?
What is Friend's maturity stage?
Is Friend safe?
What is the Friend AI pendant?
Methodology: Verified · 7 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-22
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-22
Maturity + lifecycle
Maturity stage: commercial
Lifecycle: active
Architectural position
Cohort: wearable
Sources by quality tier
- 3
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 2
- secondary-industry-publication
- Industry publication
- 1
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Friend.Recent coverage
Friend in third-party press
Attention vs reality over time
Media mentions per month (area) against verified deployment events (dots). A press spike over a flat deployment line is the hype gap, drawn over time.
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Friend from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
AUD/USD SENDS CLEAR BULLISH SIGNALS|LONG
https://www.tradingview.com/x/teLesnx8/ Hello, Friends! AUD/USD is trending up which is evident from the green colour of the previous weekly candle. However, the price has locally…
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The erosion happens in increments—a retirement, a friend's relocation, a child's distance—until one day the phone stops ringing and the calendar stays blank.
Anthropic promises zero data retention – but customers must check it worked
More compliance-friendly stance could boost appeal of Fable
Jennifer Aniston’s boyfriend, Jim Curtis, reveals what 'Friends' star is really like behind closed doors
Wellness coach Jim Curtis opened up on a podcast about Jennifer Aniston's private, loving nature and the relationship tools the couple relies on.
Measuring what matters: Wave 2 community wellbeing surveys reveal coastal trends
Every day along the NSW coast, people are heading to the beach, walking coastal tracks and spending time with family and friends by the water. Regular visits to the NSW coast have…
Ex-Indiana deputy charged with felony for allegedly using Flock cameras to stalk girlfriend
Skylar Thompson allegedly ran over 2,000 Flock camera searches on his girlfriend's license plate, falsely listing them as city planning duties.
Razer just released a cute and teensy mobile game controller
It's called Prio and folds up when not in use, making it pocket-friendly.
Sony’s New ULT Tower Max Wireless Party Speaker Delivered Massive Sound I Felt in My Chest
The large, DJ-friendly loud speakers have new designs, lots of connection options and plenty of thump.
Shelly’s new $50 security camera watches your home without a subscription
After launching a budget-friendly flood sensor last month with impressive battery life, Shelly announced a new $49.99 security camera today that can be used without any additional…
Samsung's new Galaxy Book 6 model is a budget-friendly $799 laptop
Samsung has released a more accessible and affordable Galaxy Book 6 laptop.
JBL’s Cove speakers want to make setting up dynamic multiroom audio a two-minute job
The new whole-home lineup features modern-looking, modular, surround sound-friendly Wi-Fi speakers starting at $229 and ready to play out of the box in three easy steps. The post…
Rob and Michele Reiner’s Son Jake Marries Longtime Girlfriend
The ceremony reportedly took place eight months after the brutal murder of his parents in December.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /models/friend-pendant.md
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/models/97d9fa67-9355-44c9-9b07-5bff221ce3b9
- Revision history: /models/friend-pendant/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Video
Trolling My Friend as the ANOMALIES in Animal Hospital! Today I'm trolling my friend Arkey by pretending to be one of the ANOMALIES in Animal Hospital! Watch until the end to see all of his reactions and SUBSCRIBE! Tha
Trolling My Friend’s Clan with REAL ADMIN in Rivals Today I'm trolling my friend Arkey's Clan with REAL ADMIN in Roblox Rivals.. Watch until the end to see all
A friendship like theirs 💗 Pokémon Horizons: Season 3, now playing on Netflix! SUBSCRIBE: https://bit.ly/2ZflIEC About Netflix Family: Welcome to the officia
It all started in the 2006 when 14-year-old Christina Hamilton walked into a criminal justice class, she had no idea she was about to meet the future biggest po
When you say hello to your girlfriend's friend and suddenly you're in the doghouse. 😂 A relatable stickman animation about the chaos of innocent gestures being
Reality vs attention
Friend draws attention at the 96th percentile but verifies reality at the 24th percentile among wearable robots. Hype Gap +72.3, 1st widest among wearable robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Strong recent media coverage and press activity. Thin deployment record; scale validation still in progress.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 2, 2026