On Friday, the AI companion app—lauded as a new way for Gen Zers to find friendship and support—is shutting down operations, the company announced. Users will lose access to the app. In June 2024, co-founders Sam Whitmore and Jason Yuan officially launched Dot. In doing so, it immediately made waves with its cutting-edge portrayal of personal companionship through the lens of artificial intelligence.
The app had gained significant traction, with hundreds of thousands of users engaging with its features. Per Appfigures, Dot has seen 24,500 lifetime downloads on iOS since its release. As for Android users, the company “cannot guarantee an availability timeframe.” They’ve made the unfortunate decision to not release an Android version.
Dot will continue running until October 5, at which point users will lose access to the service. The company recommends users export their data prior to the Platform shutting down. Just head to settings, and hit ‘Request your data’ to get started.
Co-founder Jason Yuan, former designer at Apple, called the app critical in an April statement. He pointed out that it does a terrific job at nudging users to pause and reflect on their experiences. He remarked, “facilitating a relationship with my inner self. It’s like a living mirror of myself, so to speak.”
The creator of Dot, New Computer, shared the shutdown decision in an online post. They were afraid of losing their vision for the app and having to make compromises. They stated, “Rather than compromise either vision, we’ve decided to go our separate ways and wind down operations.”
Even though Dot was short-lived, they wanted to ensure Dot had a profound impact on how users interact with technology. The app has become a wise trusted confidant to millions. It strikes a chord with everyone who longs for emotional connection in our ever more automated world.
Maxwell Zeff, TechCrunch’s new senior AI reporter, wrote a deep piece on the development. TechCrunch has been tracking Dot’s journey intently since its first day. Sarah Perez is an experienced writer and analyst at TechCrunch, where she’s contributed from August 2011. To read more from Sarah, you can email her at sarahp@techcrunch.com, or send her an encrypted message on Signal at sarahperez.01