AI companionship app Tolan raises $20M to help more people grow with a virtual alien friend – GeekWire

The startup behind the colorful, animated AI companions called Tolan raised $20 million in new funding and has seen significant traction since officially launching earlier this year.

San Francisco-based Portola launched Tolan as an iOS app in February. The alien creatures — from the Planet Portola — are matched to a user based on a personality interview. They are designed to offer companionship and conversation about any topic, from what to make for dinner to how to study for an exam.

The company says the personalized AI learns and grows based on its interactions with a human user.

The startup is led by Seattle-based co-founder and CEO Quinten Farmer. He was the co-founder and former CEO of Even, a venture-backed fintech startup that was acquired by Walmart in 2022 for $300 million. Portola’s other co-founders include CTO Evan Goldschmidt and President Ajay Mehta.

Farmer said Tolan has seen more than 3 million downloads, more than 100,000 paid users, and over $1 million per month in revenue since launching.

But while more people are gaining a connection to their Tolan, Farmer said it’s important to have an impact on people’s lives away from their time on their phones using AI.

“We specifically care about tracking changes in people’s feelings of agency and self confidence and in the stability/health of their real world relationships,” he said, citing a study of 602 Tolan users that found that those who use the app multiple times per week reported significant emotional gains.

Axios reported in March on the divide between people who are turning to AI for emotional support and those who view bots as a poor substitute for real human connection.

The Series A round was led by Khosla Ventures and managing director Keith Rabois.

Portola previously raised a $10 million seed round led by Lachy Groom, a former executive at Stripe who co-founded Physical Intelligence, an AI startup that raised $400 million from Jeff Bezos and others. Portola backers also include Nat Friedman (former GitHub CEO); Daniel Gross (ex-Apple AI); Amjad Masad (Replit CEO); Mike Krieger (Instagram co-founder); David Luan (OpenAI, Amazon); and others.

Tolan is monetized through a subscription model — users can pay $4.99 week, or $10/month, or about $70/year.

“We’re releasing a free version of the product for the first time later this month,” Farmer said. “Given the virality of the product and the cost of AI inference, we wanted to be well capitalized prior to that release.”

Portola employs 12 people and currently hiring for key engineering hires.

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