The startup Wabi, specializing in artificial intelligence technologies, announced that it has successfully raised $55 million in funding, pushing its market valuation to $1.25 billion and making it the latest addition to the "unicorn" club. This funding comes at a time when the company is undergoing a radical shift in its technical identity, having redefined itself as a platform for "Personal Agents" rather than just a tool for building applications via text commands.
Wabi was founded by Eugenia Kuyda, an entrepreneur previously known for founding the virtual companion app Replika. In its new version, dubbed "Wabi 2.0," the company aims to move beyond traditional text-only chat interfaces. Instead of merely answering questions, the smart agent builds user interfaces and mini-apps on the fly to execute specific tasks requested by the user, making artificial intelligence an executive tool rather than just a conversationalist.
On-demand mini-apps
Use cases presented by the company include the agent's ability to create custom apps for meal planning, tracking local restaurants, designing fitness plans, and even building specialized trivia games. The core idea is that the AI does not just talk to you, but builds the software tool you need at that moment to accomplish the task, representing an evolution in the concept of "Software as a Service" to "Software on Demand."
IVP led this funding round, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the Amazon Alexa Fund, and Forerunner. The round also saw notable participation from prominent names in the tech sector, including Tobi Lütke (CEO of Shopify), Marc Benioff (CEO of Salesforce), Marissa Mayer (former CEO of Yahoo), and Dick Costolo (former CEO of Twitter).
The AI agent race
This investment reflects the significant momentum currently seen in the "AI Agents" sector. Last September, the competitor company Instinct successfully raised massive funding that brought its valuation to $10 billion, and Tolan recently secured $30 million to develop its smart assistant. Investors believe the future is trending toward AI systems that go beyond text boxes or command lines to interact with the user through integrated visual and functional interfaces.
What practically changes in the user experience?
Wabi's new direction represents a transition from "generative AI for text" to "generative AI for functional software." The average user will no longer need to search for a specialized app in an app store for every urgent need; instead, the smart agent will program a simple, temporary interface that serves the required purpose. This model reduces friction between the desire to accomplish a task and the technical tool, opening the door to a future where applications are "fluid," forming on demand rather than being rigid templates pre-installed on phones, which could radically change how we interact with smart devices in the coming years.