Replika’s founder built the AI assistant she pitched at Disrupt 12 years ago
Eugenia Kuyda, founder of Replika, has launched a new multiplayer AI assistant platform called Wabi. The app allows users to create custom agentic threads for specific tasks, marking an evolution from her previous social-focused AI projects.
Why it matters
This launch reflects the broader industry shift toward 'agentic' AI that can perform specific, multi-step tasks rather than just engaging in open-ended conversation.
Twelve years ago today, Eugenia Kuyda stood up on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt and presented a conversational chatbot called IO that acted as a lifestyle concierge to help people book restaurants and vacations along with other tasks.
IO, the first product from her startup Luka, came before the deep learning breakthroughs that would eventually lead to today’s large language models. “ It still worked ,” Kuyda told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. “It was pretty magical…but, of course, it’s nowhere near what we have today.”
Luka ended up becoming Replika, the popular AI chatbot companion company. Last year, Kuyda left as CEO of Replika and founded Wabi . Last year, Kuyda left as CEO of Replika and founded Wabi.
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