Wabi Raises $55M at a $1.25B Valuation for a Shared Personal AI Agent
The startup from Replika creator Eugenia Kuyda, which builds mini-apps for groups of people, closed an IVP-led round weeks after pivoting to an AI messenger.
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Wabi, a personal AI assistant built for groups of people rather than individual users, announced on October 29, 2026, that it raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion valuation. IVP led the round. The company was founded by Eugenia Kuyda, who previously created the AI companion app Replika.
Image: NeONBRAND (Unsplash) / CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Who invested
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Forerunner and the Amazon Alexa Fund also took part, along with a group of angel investors: Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, former Yahoo head Marissa Mayer, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers.
a16z has backed Wabi since its pre-seed round. "Eugenia knows personal agents need more than just a chat interface," said Anish Acharya, a general partner at the firm.
"She has a clear vision for how people will interact with AI, one that goes far beyond the text box or command line," said Alex Lim, a general partner at IVP.
Wabi says the money will support product development and expansion. It has not disclosed user numbers or revenue.
From app builder to AI messenger
Wabi started as a tool that let anyone build apps from text prompts. Last month, TechCrunch reported, the company pivoted to become an AI messenger, a version it called Wabi 2.0. The agent now builds the small interfaces people need while they chat.
The company's examples include:
- Meal plans shared by a family that turn into grocery lists
- A couple's running list of restaurants to try
- Trivia games for a birthday or trackers for a book club
- 30-day fitness challenges among friends
- Coordinating family schedules, booking appointments and planning trips
Bloomberg described the product as software that lets groups of people work with AI agents to coordinate activities and make decisions together. Wabi is available on iOS, Android and Mac, with Windows coming soon.
"AI shouldn't just save people time. It should help them spend it better, doing more of what they love, with the people they love," Kuyda said in the announcement. She said she wants Wabi to become "an operating system for life."
A crowded field
Wabi is raising money while investors place many bets on AI assistants. TechCrunch pointed to viral AI agent Instinct, which raised another $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation in September, and to Tolan, maker of an AI companion, which recently raised $30 million.
Wabi's angle is multiplayer use. Most assistants are built for one person typing into one chat. Wabi is built around shared spaces where friends, couples and families use the same agent and keep the mini-apps it builds.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Amount | $55 million |
| Valuation | $1.25 billion |
| Lead investor | IVP |
| Other investors | a16z, Forerunner, Amazon Alexa Fund, angels |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Mac (Windows coming) |
Why it matters
A unicorn valuation for a product that changed direction only weeks ago shows investors are pricing in Kuyda's track record with Replika and the broader belief that AI agents will move beyond one-on-one chat. The open question is whether shared mini-apps keep people coming back after the novelty wears off, and how Wabi will eventually make money.
If you want to try it, start with one group task, such as a shared meal plan or a trip, and check what data the app can see from each participant before you invite others.
More consumer AI coverage is in our Artificial Intelligence hub.
How we reported this
We checked the round, the investors and the quotes against Wabi's PR Newswire release. We confirmed the pivot and market context through TechCrunch and the product description through Bloomberg. We cut details from the draft that no source we could access confirmed, including the size and date of Wabi's pre-seed round and its total funding.
Sources
- PR Newswire: Wabi Raises $55 Million At A $1.25 Billion Valuation, Following Strong Early Demand, Oct 29, 2026.
- TechCrunch: Wabi, the AI agent that builds mini apps, now valued at $1.25B after latest round, Oct 29, 2026.
- Bloomberg: AI Assistant Startup Wabi Raises $55 Million at $1.25 Billion Value, Oct 29, 2026.
DailyMech used AI tools to help research and draft this article; it was fact-checked by our editors.