Kyndred, a Romanian startup co-founded by Alex Bararu and Rares Mosescu, has secured €500,000 in a pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by Early Game Ventures. The company focuses on creating AI companions that feature a face, voice, and memory, aiming to move beyond simple text-based chat interactions.
The startup's first AI companion, Maya, launched three months ago and currently has over 150 paying customers. The company generated its initial revenue through a pre-launch campaign. Unlike traditional task-based AI assistants, Kyndred's characters are designed to learn user habits and preferences to provide long-term support.
The fresh capital will be directed toward improving the Maya platform and developing new AI companions. Kyndred also plans to use the funds to grow its customer base and expand its internal team. The company is currently hiring for the roles of AI Engineer and Product Engineer.
