Replika creator Eugenia Kuyda opens Wabi, a shared AI assistant, to all

Eugenia Kuyda, who founded AI companion app Replika and stepped down as its chief executive last year, has made her new product, Wabi, available to all users. TechCrunch reported in October that Wabi is a personal AI assistant built as a messaging app and designed to work across groups rather than for a single user.

What we know

According to TechCrunch, Wabi is free and runs on iOS, Android and Mac. The idea is that several people, such as partners or friends, share one assistant that knows their plans; in Kuyda's example, a partner could ask it whether she is free on a given day. "I don't think anyone has yet cracked multiplayer," Kuyda told TechCrunch.

The launch closes a loop for Kuyda. Roughly 12 years ago, at TechCrunch Disrupt, she presented a chatbot concierge from her earlier start-up, Luka, intended to help people book restaurants and trips. Replika later emerged from that company. TechCrunch reported that Wabi has not settled on a business model and is in talks to raise more money. Some coverage describes the release as a reworking of an earlier Wabi app; Kuyda frames it as an evolution rather than a pivot.

Why it matters

Kuyda helped define the one-to-one emotional companion. Her next move goes social and practical, which is a notable signal. Single-user companions have run into regulatory heat over dependency and minors, and into tough unit economics. A shared assistant built around coordination sidesteps some of that, but gives up the intense personal attachment that drives companion engagement and subscription revenue.

Multiplayer AI also brings new problems. An assistant holding several people's calendars and messages raises questions of consent, data visibility within groups, and who controls memory. The lack of a business model also leaves Wabi's eventual monetisation, whether subscriptions, commerce or something else, open.

For companion operators, Wabi is worth watching as a test of whether the relational design skills honed in companion apps carry over to everyday utility products.