Wabi, the new startup from Replika founder Eugenia Kuyda, raises $55 million

Wabi, the startup of Replika founder Eugenia Kuyda, has raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion valuation, TechCrunch reported on October 29. IVP led the round, with Andreessen Horowitz, Forerunner and the Amazon Alexa Fund taking part, along with angel investors including Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

Wabi is not a companion app. It calls itself a “personal agent” that builds small apps for tasks such as meal planning, fitness plans or planning date nights. As we reported when it opened to everyone, it works like a messenger, with threads that can be shared as group chats.

The money still matters for the companion world. Kuyda built Replika into one of the best-known AI companions, and her new bet is on an assistant, not a partner.