Born raises USD 15 million with lead seat investor ACCEL
Berlin — The consumer AI startup Born has closed a Series A financing round of 15 million US dollars. The aim is to drive forward the development of AI-supported “AI Friends” and to help internationalize the team. This brings the total funding raised to date to USD 25 million.
Leading investors from the consumer and gaming industry participated in the financing round: Accel (lead seed investor) also took part in the Series A, together with Tencent and Laton Ventures. Angel investors such as Ilkka Paananen (Supercell), Riccardo Zacconi (King), Scott Belsky (ex-Adobe, A24 Partner) and Alexander Pall (The Chainsmokers) are also among the supporters.
From chatbots to real digital companions
Born is positioned at the interface of AI and consumer social. The company develops virtual friends that go beyond pure chatbots and aim to be socially, emotionally and culturally relevant. Unlike platforms that focus on role-playing games or purely text-based conversations, Born aims to build resonant digital relationships that feel alive and sustainable.
Fabian Kamberi, CEO and co-founder of Berlin-based AI gaming startup Born, believes that the AI companions currently on the market are designed to exploit users and isolate them through one-to-one relationships with AI chatbots: “It seems like this is adding to the loneliness epidemic instead of providing more fun and giving users the opportunity to improve their lives.”
A virtual pet called Pengu
The future of AI companions lies in shared experiences that strengthen bonds in the real world.
Born’s flagship product is an app that allows users to raise a cute virtual pet called Pengu, play mini-games with it and raise it together. You can think of it as a generative, AI-powered Tamagotchi or Neopet, but one that requires collaboration with another human, such as a friend or partner.
It is a freemium app where users can pay for a Pengu Pass subscription to get additional features. Although Born says the app has reached more than 15 million users worldwide, the company has not disclosed how many of these are paying customers — a crucial question for any subscription business in the consumer space.
The idea behind Pengu is that the social aspect makes the pet a shared project and helps users connect with both the AI character and their real-life relationships. Now Born is preparing to release new characters for the Pengu app and launch another social AI product for young people.
www.born.com