It enters a category full of flops.

They invented a tiny bot to reassure you that no one’s mad at you when you’re too high at Trader Joe’s. It can do other stuff, too, but one can safely assume that will be the main purpose of Friend, the AI pendant that is always listening and sends you texts.

The device, announced this week with an ad that the internet immediately clowned on , is meant to be worn around your neck like some kind of cursed amulet and features a microphone that is always on but doesn’t store recordings. Its creator, Avi Schiffmann, who raised $2.5 million from investors (including *disclosure time* Morning Brew co-founder and CEO Austin Rief), has described it as an adult Tamagotchi and a way to battle loneliness.

• Based on what it overhears, Friend sends you encouraging or playfully teasing texts through its own app, which doesn’t currently charge a subscription fee.

• Schiffmann is taking preorders for $99 a pop at friend.com, a domain he claims he paid $1.8 million to secure.

Many have tried: Schiffmann says Friend is different from other AI wearables, a category full of massive flops like Humane’s AI pin and the Rabbit R1. —MM

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