At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, the San Francisco-based startup Based Hardware announced the launch of its latest AI wearable device, Omi, designed to enhance user productivity through innovative "brain-computer interface" technology. This device can be worn around the neck, and users simply need to say "Hey, Omi" to activate its AI assistant. Interestingly, Omi can also be secured to the side of the user's head with medical tape, allowing the brain-computer interface to determine if the user is talking to it.
The founder of Omi, Nik Shevchenko, originally named the device "Friend" on Kickstarter, but after another hardware company in San Francisco launched a product with the same name and purchased the domain for $1.8 million, he decided to rename it to Omi. In recent years, many AI devices have emerged, such as Rabbit and Humane, but these devices seem to have fallen short of initial market expectations. Shevchenko hopes that Omi will serve as a supplementary device to smartphones, thereby enhancing user productivity.
Omi features a compact, round design and is priced at $89, with shipping expected to start in the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, a developer version of Omi is available for immediate shipping at approximately $70. Based Hardware states that Omi can answer questions, summarize conversations, create to-do lists, and assist in scheduling meetings. The device continuously listens to the user's voice and processes it using GPT-4o, while also providing personalized suggestions based on each user's background information.
To address user privacy concerns, Shevchenko mentioned that Omi is developed on an open-source platform, allowing users to clearly understand where their data goes or choose to store it locally. Additionally, this open-source platform allows developers to build their own applications or use AI models of their choice. Currently, there are over 250 applications available in Omi's app store.
Shevchenko revealed that Based Hardware has raised approximately $700,000, with $150,000 allocated for creating promotional videos for Omi, and stated that they will continue to seek further investment in the future. He believes that the user base is the core driving force behind a product's success; the more people who learn about Omi, the better the product will become.
Although it remains uncertain whether Omi's "brain-computer interface" technology can truly be realized, Shevchenko demonstrated by closing his eyes and focusing on communicating with Omi, successfully obtaining summary information about TechCrunch. While Omi is different from the "Friend" product, Shevchenko acknowledged that there is indeed an application in Omi's app store that has the same functionality as Friend.
