AI ‘Friend’ Company Spent $1.8 Million and Most of Its Funds on Domain Name

Comments

• dormedas@lemmy.dormedas.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  The article is even more wack than the price for the domain. They want to launch a $99 necklace that listens to everything you say while it “forms its own thoughts” about it. Then instead of talking to you, it just texts you when IT “wants” (read: on a timer or based on a system prompt)

  The monetization is a one-time $99, no subscription. That’s … suspicious from a privacy perspective.

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• avidamoeba@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Dot-com vibes.

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• Retiring@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Archive link against the pay/subscription wall

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  • sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Thank you. I run BPC and forget that not everyone does.

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• Thorry84@feddit.nl ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Please note the title is misleading. The domain was sold for 1.8 million, but with a payment plan. So that 1.8 million gets spread out of a longer time. Sure some of the initial funding paid for it, but it’s misleading to say it spent most of their funds.

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• jonsnothere@beehaw.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  That honestly seems pretty low for friend.com

  Although the fact they’re developing hardware on less than a million dollar budget is bananas, let alone the other whack ideas

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  • kandoh@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I remember when the place I worked at changed names and some Russian guy was sitting on the domain name, wouldn’t let it go for less than a million.

    The CEO signed off on it after a day of consideration. Really changed my perspective on how much money these companies were sitting on.

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• smeg@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  “People just don’t get consumer, I view this as saving money. Much less money needs to be spent on marketing, it’s a one time thing,” Schiffmann said.

  The fact that we’re now reading this article and talking about it kind of proves his point!

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  • MagicShel@programming.dev ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Speak for yourself; I’m not going to read the article and just assume it’s silly garbage based on comments and having seen a few garbage products in my day.

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• Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Friend.com for those who don’t want to read the article

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  • massive_bereavement@fedia.io ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    They should have called it Friend Computer instead.

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    • kandoh@reddthat.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Or just use AI or IO instead of com

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    • Malgas@beehaw.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Indeed, friend citizen. Would you like some Bouncy Bubble Beverage?

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• TehPers@beehaw.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Looks like the article requires an account. Is there an archived version?

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  • hand@lemmy.studio ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    archive.is/10b0i

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