Your Next AI Purchase Deserves More Scrutiny Than This Pendant Got
Picture this: a startup raises US$2.5 million, then burns US$1.8 million of it on a single domain name. It launches an AI gadget that becomes a public punchline. Nine months and one protest later, it relaunches the same product with one new feature — and charges twice as much. That’s exactly what the AI company Friend just did.
You might be thinking: “This is consumer tech nonsense. What does an overpriced pendant have to do with my shop, my workshop, or my accounting firm?” More than you’d expect. Because every week, Malaysian SME owners get pitched an “AI solution.” Some cost less than a nasi kandar lunch. Others cost more than a used Perodua. And the marketing around all of them sounds suspiciously similar.
Friend’s story is useful because it gives you a simple test for evaluating any AI tool. It also shows what happens when a company ignores its customers and doubles down on a bad idea. Let’s unpack it.
TL;DR
The Friend AI pendant — already widely criticized — relaunched at US$249, up from US$129, with a speaker that talks to you, plus a US$10/month subscription for longer memory. The company ignored the criticism and raised the price. For Malaysian SMEs, the lesson is clear: evaluate AI tools by the problems they solve, watch out for subscription traps, and never let hype drive your technology decisions.
What This Means
Friend is a wearable AI pendant. You clip it on, talk to it, and it responds. The original version texted you back. The new “Friend 2.0,” as The Verge describes it, has a speaker so it can talk out loud. The founder even called it “Friend 2.0” in a tweet, though the product itself is still just called “Friend.”
This relaunch comes about nine months after a protest in New York City where demonstrators highlighted society’s growing dependence on technology — with Friend as the target, given its aggressive subway advertising campaign. The company spent a significant portion of its US$2.5 million in funding on marketing and the friend.com domain before it had a proven product.
In plain language: a controversial product got more expensive, gained a feature nobody demanded, and added a recurring fee. It’s a textbook case of selling vision over value.
How This Applies to Malaysian SMEs
1. Hype is not a feature. When the Friend pendant launched, people were supposed to be excited about AI companionship. Instead, they were puzzled. The company spent heavily on ads, but spending on promotion doesn’t create value — it just amplifies the message, whether that message is good or bad. As an SME owner, the same trap applies when you’re evaluating an AI vendor. Does the tool actually solve a problem you have today? Or does it rely on a convincing sales pitch? If you can’t describe what the tool does in one clear sentence, you don’t understand it well enough to buy it. Think of the last software subscription you registered for and barely used. The persuasive brochure did its job; the product didn’t.
2. Subscription creep is real. Friend now costs about double its launch price, and it adds a US$10/month subscription to remember conversations beyond 30 days. That’s the classic pattern: buy the gadget, then keep paying to make it useful. Malaysian SMEs face this constantly with software. You sign up for a tool at an attractive rate, and within a year, the essential features are behind a higher tier. Before you commit to any automation tool, ask: what does the base version actually include? What happens after the first year? And most importantly, what data do you lose if you cancel? If the answer is “everything,” that’s a risk you’re carrying every single month.
3. Ignoring customer feedback is expensive. Friend was met with widespread criticism, including public protest. Instead of addressing it, the company raised the price. In Malaysia, your customers are your best research department. If they consistently say your ordering process is confusing, your delivery updates are late, or your staff takes too long to reply on WhatsApp, that’s not a complaint — that’s a roadmap. The businesses that thrive are the ones that fix what customers point out, not the ones that double down on their original idea and hope the market catches up. Your customers are telling you what to improve. Listen to them before your competitors do.
4. Choose boring tools that work. An AI pendant that talks to you doesn’t send invoices. It doesn’t follow up on unpaid bills. It doesn’t remind your staff about appointments. And it doesn’t answer your customers’ questions at 11 pm. A practical AI assistant for your business looks very different — it integrates with your existing workflow. A customer service chatbot, a smart scheduling system, or an automated stock alert delivers real value without a wearable gadget. The most successful Malaysian SMEs we see aren’t the ones chasing the flashiest tech. They’re the ones quietly automating their follow-ups and their data entry so their staff can focus on actual customers.
Consider the difference:
Pendant vs. Practical: A Quick Comparison
| Friend pendant (original) | Friend 2.0 | What your SME actually needs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | US$129 | US$249 | Software with a free trial you can test first |
| Speaker | No | Yes | Not relevant to your operations |
| Memory | Standard | 30 days, then US$10/month | Your data should be exportable and fully yours |
| Marketing spend | US$1.8M of US$2.5M funding went to friend.com | A flashy domain won’t serve your customers well | |
| Customer feedback | Public criticism and protest | Feedback from your actual customers is your best roadmap | |
Practical Takeaways
- Ask “what problem does this solve?” If you can’t answer in one sentence, skip it. Hype fades; problems persist.
- Test before you commit. Use free trials with your real team. If the tool doesn’t earn its place in your actual workflow within two weeks, drop it.
- Check the company’s track record. If a product was widely criticized and responded by raising prices, that signals a company out of touch with its users.
- Read the complaints, not just the ads. Before buying any AI tool, find the negative reviews, the support threads, and the community gripes. That’s where the truth about the product lives.
- Prioritize tools that save your staff hours. Anything that removes repetitive tasks — data entry, follow-ups, report generation — creates compounding value for a small team.
“If a company responds to criticism by doubling the price and adding a subscription, it’s not a relaunch — it’s a test of how much its customers will tolerate.”
The Bigger Picture
The Friend story is part of a larger pattern: consumer AI gadgets that promise companionship and intelligence, but deliver appearance over substance. These products come and go. What stays is the unglamorous work of actually applying AI to business operations.
For Malaysian SMEs, the long-term trend that matters is not AI wearables — it’s AI that handles the tasks you currently waste hours on. The businesses that pull ahead over the next few years won’t be the ones with the flashiest gadgets. They’ll be the ones who automated their follow-ups, streamlined their customer service, and used their freed-up time to build stronger relationships with clients.
So next time you see a slick ad for a fancy AI gadget, remember Friend. Then go back to your desk, look at your own workflow, and ask: where’s the bottleneck? That’s where your attention belongs.
Ready to Streamline Your Operations?
Your business should run itself. AutoRunBiz deploys AI agents to automate your daily operations — WhatsApp orders, invoicing, customer follow-ups, and accounting. Book a free 15-min ops audit to see where automation fits your business →