Creator of AI necklace ‘Friend’ used to be a crypto YouTuber
The creator of a $99 AI-powered necklace called ‘Friend,’ which is eerily similar to another AI necklace, has a history of creating YouTube videos on crypto mining and getting rich with crypto.
A quick recap, ‘Friend’ was created by 21-year-old Avi Schiffmann and is the latest device utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) that has caught everyone’s attention.
The device can reportedly ‘combat loneliness’ by listening to your conversations and sending messages in response. Friend has already been described as ‘dystopian.’
There’s already an AI necklace called Friend
Interestingly, Forbes reported the launch of a separate AI-powered necklace, also called Friend, one month ago. This product was created by Based Hardware and its Chief Executive Officer Nik Shevchenko.
Shevchenko’s Friend is $70 and uses ChatGPT and a microphone to record your conversations and create emails, alerts, and ‘proactive insights.’ This Friend launched on June 24, 2024, and will ship its AI necklaces in the fourth quarter of this year.
Both in name and physical concept, it seems Schiffmann’s Friend is similar to Shevchenko’s Friend. However, while Shevchenko’s Friend is pitched as a productive tool, Schiffmann’s Friend sees itself as an ‘emotional toy’ that avoids a productivity focus.
He told TechCrunch his device is designed as an AI friend and nothing more.
Schiffmann created the AI necklace under the firm MyTabAI, INC. He filed an application to trademark Friend on May 7, 2024. We have reached out to Schiffmann to find out if the product took inspiration from Shevchenko’s Friend.
According to 404Media, Schiffmann used $1.8 million from a $2.5 million fundraiser to purchase the domain name Friend.com in February this year. He also managed to attract Solana founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, and Morning Brew’s CEO and co-founder, Austin Rief, and Jordan Singer to invest.
Teenage Crypto YouTuber
However, six years ago Schiffmann, who would’ve been roughly 15 at the time, created a series of cryptocurrency videos on his YouTube channel. Videos ranged from updating the progress of his crypto mining rig, crypto news segments, and informational videos on how to create wallets and coins.
Read more: Creator of rabbit AI assistant has hidden NFT past
Other video titles included “Rags to Riches – CryptoCurrency Trading (EPISODE ONE!),” and “2018 TRON COIN PRICE PREDICTIONS! ONE DOLLAR???” The creator of the AI product RabbitAI also had a controversial history with crypto.
Schiffmann also used the channel to create 3D modeling and Adobe editing tutorials while also filming himself playing Bethsda’s hit RPG Skryim. Then, at the age of 17, he reportedly created a global COVID-19 tracker that managed to pull in 700 million visitors.
Update July 31, 15:45 UTC: Added the date of Schiffmann’s Friend.com domain name purchase.
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