Berlin-based AI gaming startup Born has closed $15 million in its Series A funding round. This awesome milestone brings the company’s total funding to $25 million! To build out its character-driven offerings, the company is releasing new characters on its Pengu app. It is working on an innovative digital companion for youth that offers positive companionship and acts as a health-learning tool.
Born intends to open a New York-based marketing and AI R&D outpost later this year. It’s the new infusion of capital that will make this possible. This expansion is a natural fit with our mission. We want to build culturally relevant AI companions that users feel deeply attuned to, like the best of friends. Born, aka Slay, has burst onto the scene reaching more than 15 million users across the globe. It hopes to combat loneliness in our rapidly technology-influenced lives.
Born’s CEO and co-founder, Fabian Kamberi, articulated his vision for the future of social AI. He emphasized that what you see today from chatbots is not the finished version of AI friends. Instead, he envisions a much richer form of user engagement that goes well beyond texting a chatbot.
“We don’t believe that the current chatbot landscape is the final form factor for how AI friends and consumer AI is done.” – Fabian Kamberi
Kamberi added context to his concerns about the current state of social interaction, as augmented and altered by AI. He criticized how existing platforms tend to deepen loneliness rather than creating a platform for deeper connection.
“It feels like it fuels the loneliness epidemic, instead of making it more fun and giving users the opportunity to make their lives better.” – Fabian Kamberi
The company aims to create a “cute” digital companion that serves dual purposes: providing companionship and acting as a learning tool. This new product is expected to generate “network effects,” where users share their unique creations across social media, potentially increasing user engagement and expanding the platform’s reach.
Investors in Born include top-tier firms such as Accel, Tencent, and Laton Ventures. Investor Luca Bocchio from Accel conveys unshakeable confidence in Born’s potential. He brags about the team’s phenomenal streak in creating successful applications.
“We’ve been really impressed by the team’s ability to develop chart-topping apps and their inspiring product vision, and we’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with them as they scale globally.” – Luca Bocchio
As we release new characters onto the Pengu app, it increases user engagement. This thrilling advancement produces a much more powerful user experience for all, and we couldn’t be more excited! Enhanced safety Powered by OpenAI’s cutting-edge generative AI models born to … Strengthening this core philosophy with more layers of protection provides even more peace of mind for users to engage safely with on-demand companionship.
Born’s evolution from Slay to its present-day form embodies its mission to reimagine social connection in a digital world. The earlier branding had sufficiently positioned Slay as the space where teens could experiment with all sorts of social play. Born is intent on building valuable connections with AI companions. In response, the company hopes to reach a wider demographic.
This latest funding round and upcoming product developments illustrate Born’s ambition to be at the forefront of the evolving landscape of social AI. As the company moves forward, it seeks to address the growing need for authentic connections in an increasingly disconnected world.