{
  "id": 15642722,
  "title": "Replika’s founder built the AI assistant she pitched at Disrupt 12 years ago",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/replikas-founder-built-the-ai-assistant-she-pitched-at-disrupt-12",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-19T18:49:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechCrunch",
    "slug": "techcrunch",
    "url": "https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/19/replikas-founder-built-the-ai-assistant-she-pitched-at-disrupt-12-years-ago/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2013, Eugenia Kuyda debuted IO, a chatbot designed to act as a lifestyle concierge on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt. IO, developed by her startup Luka, was a precursor to large language models and could handle tasks like booking meals and vacations. Today, Kuyda is the founder of Wabi, a multiplayer personal AI assistant that launched last year and has just been officially released for all users. Wabi functions as a messenger app, allowing users to create multiple agentic threads for various tasks and long-term goals. Each thread can house custom apps, such as health trackers or event finders. Kuyda believes Wabi's multi-threaded, multiplayer design is a significant improvement over single-threaded AI assistants like Instinct and Muse, which can lead to information overload and potential hallucinations due to the sheer volume of context. The startup plans to expand its offerings as competitors like Muse and Instinct aim to address users' needs for personalized AI assistance.",
  "summary": "Eugenia Kuyda's newest startup Wabi is positioned to take advantage of an idea she had more than a decade ago. Wabi offers a personal AI assistant with a twist, free and downloadable to anyone today.",
  "key_points": [
    "Eugenia Kuyda pitched chatbot IO at Disrupt 12 years ago.",
    "Wabi, Kuyda's current startup, is a multiplayer personal AI assistant.",
    "Wabi's multi-threaded design avoids information overload and hallucinations."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}