Wabi startup raises $55 million at a $1.25 billion valuation — TechCrunch

Wabi, a startup positioning itself as a personal AI agent, has raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion valuation. TechCrunch reports.

Change in positioning

Wabi was founded by Eugenia Kuyda, who previously created the AI companion startup Replika. Initially, the service allowed anyone to create apps using text prompts. Last month, the company announced a change in direction, calling Wabi 2.0 an AI messenger.

The new service is intended to act as a personal AI agent and create interfaces users need for various tasks. The company says Wabi can be used for meal planning, tracking local restaurants, organizing dates, creating fitness plans, and developing specialized quizzes.

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Round investors

The round was led by investment firm IVP. Andreessen Horowitz, Forerunner, Amazon Alexa Fund, and private investors also participated — Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, former Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, and The Chainsmokers member Alex Pall.

IVP General Partner Alex Lim said that Kuyda has a clear vision of how people will interact with artificial intelligence beyond a text box or command line. According to him, Wabi embodies this approach.