Latest news with #Appfigures
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AI companion apps on track to pull in $120M in 2025
Demand for AI 'companion' applications outside of bigger names, like ChatGPT and Grok, is growing. Of the 337 active and revenue-generating AI companion apps available worldwide, 128 were released in 2025 so far, according to new data provided to TechCrunch by app intelligence firm Appfigures. This subsection of the AI market on mobile has now generated $82 million during the first half of the year and is on track to pull in over $120 million by year-end, the firm's analysis indicates. Unlike general-purpose chatbots, AI companion apps anthropomorphize AI interactions by allowing users to converse with custom characters, including friends, lovers, girlfriends or boyfriends, fantasy characters, and more. Appfigures defined the market segment in the same way, describing companion apps as those in which the user can interact with either premade or user-generated synthetic characters meant to embody an actual personality. Popular apps in this space include Replika, PolyBuzz, Chai, and others. As of July 2025, AI companion apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play have been downloaded 220 million times globally. During the first half of 2025, downloads were up 88% year-over-year, reaching 60 million. Appfigures crunched the numbers and found that, as of July 2025, AI companion apps have driven $221 million in consumer spending worldwide. So far this year, these apps have generated 64% more revenue than during the same period in 2024. The top 10% of all AI companion apps generate 89% of the revenue in the category, the data shows. In addition, around 10% (or 33) of the apps have exceeded $1 million in lifetime consumer spending. Revenue per download is also up $0.66 from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18 for the category so far in 2025. While dedicated AI companion apps are fairly popular, bigger companies like xAI are also moving into the market. In July, xAI's Grok launched AI companions, including an anime girl and guy, as well as a snarky 3D fox. Meanwhile, ChatGPT's recent upgrade to GPT-5 brought to light the fact that many of its users felt a kinship with the older model, as they mourned the loss of their AI companion, whom they had come to depend upon. To address these and other concerns about GPT-5's performance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman brought back the 4o model for the time being. Google last year tapped into the market, too, when it hired away founder, Noam Shazeer. The app lives on and still has tens of millions of monthly active users. According to Appfigures' data, the most popular AI companion apps are those used by people looking for an AI girlfriend. Of the active apps on the market today, 17% have an app name that includes the word 'girlfriend,' compared with 4% that say 'boyfriend' or 'fantasy.' Terms like anime, soulmate, and lover, among others, are less frequently mentioned. The firm notes there were likely a number of other AI companion apps that launched on the app stores since 2022, but were later removed after failing to gain traction in terms of revenue or downloads. Those weren't factored into its analysis, however.
TechCrunch
3 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
AI companion apps on track to pull in $120M in 2025
Demand for AI 'companion' applications outside of bigger names, like ChatGPT and Grok, is growing. Of the 337 active and revenue-generating AI companion apps available worldwide, 128 were released in 2025 so far, according to new data provided to TechCrunch by app intelligence firm Appfigures. This subsection of the AI market on mobile has now generated $82 million during the first half of the year and is on track to pull in over $120 million by year-end, the firm's analysis indicates. Unlike general-purpose chatbots, AI companion apps anthropomorphize AI interactions by allowing users to converse with custom characters, including friends, lovers, girlfriends or boyfriends, fantasy characters, and more. Appfigures defined the market segment in the same way, describing companion apps as those in which the user can interact with either premade or user-generated synthetic characters meant to embody an actual personality. Popular apps in this space include Replika, PolyBuzz, Chai, and others. As of July 2025, AI companion apps across the Apple App Store and Google Play have been downloaded 220 million times globally. During the first half of 2025, downloads were up 88% year-over-year, reaching 60 million. Appfigures crunched the numbers and found that, as of July 2025, AI companion apps have driven $221 million in consumer spending worldwide. So far this year, these apps have generated 64% more revenue than during the same period in 2024. The top 10% of all AI companion apps generate 89% of the revenue in the category, the data shows. In addition, around 10% (or 33) of the apps have exceeded $1 million in lifetime consumer spending. Revenue per download is also up $0.66 from $0.52 in 2024 to $1.18 for the category so far in 2025. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW While dedicated AI companion apps are fairly popular, bigger companies like xAI are also moving into the market. In July, xAI's Grok launched AI companions, including an anime girl and guy, as well as a snarky 3D fox. Meanwhile, ChatGPT's recent upgrade to GPT-5 brought to light the fact that many of its users felt a kinship with the older model, as they mourned the loss of their AI companion, whom they had come to depend upon. To address these and other concerns about GPT-5's performance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman brought back the 4o model for the time being. Google last year tapped into the market, too, when it hired away founder, Noam Shazeer. The app lives on and still has tens of millions of monthly active users. According to Appfigures' data, the most popular AI companion apps are those used by people looking for an AI girlfriend. Of the active apps on the market today, 17% have an app name that includes the word 'girlfriend,' compared with 4% that say 'boyfriend' or 'fantasy.' Terms like anime, soulmate, and lover, among others, are less frequently mentioned. Appfigures Image Credits:Appfigures The firm notes there were likely a number of other AI companion apps that launched on the app stores since 2022, but were later removed after failing to gain traction in terms of revenue or downloads. Those weren't factored into its analysis, however.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grok's AI companions drove downloads, but its latest model is the one making money
Grok's raunchy, unfiltered AI companions may be making headlines for their unhinged and often NSFW responses, but it's Grok 4, xAI's latest model, that's been driving the app's revenue of late. Elon Musk's xAI launched Grok 4 late on July 9, and by Friday, July 11, Grok's gross revenue on iOS had jumped a whopping 325% to $419,000, up from $99,000 the day before the Grok 4 launch, according to app intelligence firm Appfigures. Grok continued to pull in higher-than-usual revenue in the days following the launch of the new model, with gross revenue in the high $367,000s for a couple of days before dipping down to $310,000 on July 14. In addition, daily downloads of the Grok iOS app had increased 279% to 197,000 by July 11, up from 52,000 before Grok 4 launched. But following the addition of Grok's AI companions the next week, on July 14, the jump in downloads and revenue was less pronounced. While curiosity about the companions likely drove more installs, the feature isn't yet poised to be a significant money-maker for the company, despite being only available to 'Super Grok' subscribers paying $30 per month. Grok's iOS downloads globally were up 40% the day after the companions launched, reaching 171,000 daily installs, but revenue increased just 9%, hitting $337,000. So while it's clear that there was an impact from the launch, it's decidedly smaller than the launch of the new AI model. Given Grok's expensive new subscription offering, timed alongside the Grok 4 launch, it's not surprising to see that even a smaller increase in the number of paying subscribers could drive Grok's iOS revenue significantly higher. The company announced that, in addition to Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy, it would also offer a $300-per-month subscription called SuperGrok Heavy, its priciest plan to date. The plan offers subscribers early access to Grok 4 Heavy and other new features, xAI said, but it's more expensive than comparable plans from other major AI providers, including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. It's interesting to see this demand for Grok's subscription plans, even though the AI was initially consulting Elon Musk's X posts for answers. xAI has since addressed this issue. Interest in the new model also drove up Grok's ranking on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch, making Grok the No. 3 top app overall, and No. 2 in the Productivity category by July 12. That interest has declined somewhat over the past week — the app is now No. 17 overall — though it's still No. 2 in Productivity, Appfigures data shows. Appfigures notes that it focused on iOS data for this analysis, as that data set is currently more comprehensive than data from Android devices. The latter is only available through July 14 for the time being, as Appfigures' model needs more time to process Google Play data. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
21-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Grok's AI companions drove downloads, but its latest model is the one making money
Grok's raunchy, unfiltered AI companions may be making headlines for their unhinged and often NSFW responses, but it's Grok 4, xAI's latest model, that's been driving the app's revenue of late. Elon Musk's xAI launched Grok 4 late on July 9, and by Friday, July 11, Grok's gross revenue on iOS had jumped a whopping 325% to $419,000, up from $99,000 the day before the Grok 4 launch, according to app intelligence firm Appfigures. Image Credits:Appfigures Grok continued to pull in higher-than-usual revenue in the days following the launch of the new model, with gross revenue in the high $367,000s for a couple of days before dipping down to $310,000 on July 14. In addition, daily downloads of the Grok iOS app had increased 279% to 197,000 by July 11, up from 52,000 before Grok 4 launched. But following the addition of Grok's AI companions the next week, on July 14, the jump in downloads and revenue was less pronounced. While curiosity about the companions likely drove more installs, the feature isn't yet poised to be a significant money-maker for the company, despite being only available to 'Super Grok' subscribers paying $30 per month. Grok's iOS downloads globally were up 40% the day after the companions launched, reaching 171,000 daily installs, but revenue increased just 9%, hitting $337,000. So while it's clear that there was an impact from the launch, it's decidedly smaller than the launch of the new AI model. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW Image Credits:Appfigures Given Grok's expensive new subscription offering, timed alongside the Grok 4 launch, it's not surprising to see that even a smaller increase in the number of paying subscribers could drive Grok's iOS revenue significantly higher. The company announced that, in addition to Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy, it would also offer a $300-per-month subscription called SuperGrok Heavy, its priciest plan to date. The plan offers subscribers early access to Grok 4 Heavy and other new features, xAI said, but it's more expensive than comparable plans from other major AI providers, including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. It's interesting to see this demand for Grok's subscription plans, even though the AI was initially consulting Elon Musk's X posts for answers. xAI has since addressed this issue. Image Credits:Appfigures Interest in the new model also drove up Grok's ranking on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch, making Grok the No. 3 top app overall, and No. 2 in the Productivity category by July 12. That interest has declined somewhat over the past week — the app is now No. 17 overall — though it's still No. 2 in Productivity, Appfigures data shows. Appfigures notes that it focused on iOS data for this analysis, as that data set is currently more comprehensive than data from Android devices. The latter is only available through July 14 for the time being, as Appfigures' model needs more time to process Google Play data.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cameo's birthday reminder app, Candl, is a weak attempt at a comeback
Around this time last year, Cameo hit a significant low point. Its valuation dropped by at least 90%, and the company's dire financial situation meant it was unable to pay a $600,000 fine from the FTC. Now, the company behind the celebrity greeting app is exploring a new, albeit somewhat dull, avenue for growth. On Thursday, Cameo announced the launch of Candl, a birthday planning app designed for forgetful users who want to celebrate their friends' birthdays without being late to the party. Candl, available to download for free on the App Store, syncs birthdays from your saved contacts and creates a birthday calendar, allowing you to see your friends' and family members' birthdays while receiving reminders for upcoming celebrations. For astrology fans, you can also see with whom you're most compatible based on your zodiac sign. Additionally, the app has a 'Birthday Network,' so if another Candl user has access to the same contact but doesn't know their birthday, the app will share the birthday information it has from your contacts. (Users who prefer not to share their birthday information can opt out by visiting and submitting the phone numbers they want to exclude.) Candl is also planning to add an AI-powered feature that suggests gift ideas. The app is pretty straightforward and could be helpful for many people — after all, everyone has birthdays, and many of us have trouble keeping track of them. But it's kind of strange that this once-popular unicorn would choose to create such a simple app to try to regain its fame. Cameo is known for more ambitious projects, such as its NFT-based community offering and its pivot to content creators. However, despite these efforts, the company doesn't seem to be seeing the results it hoped for. Data from app intelligence firm Appfigures indicates that downloads of the Cameo app have steadily declined since their peak during the pandemic. In 2021, Cameo saw 1.1 million app installs compared to 433,000 in 2022. The first half of this year marked the first increase, at 270,000 downloads, representing a 24% rise compared to last year's 217,000. Plus, in the first six months of 2025, global gross consumer spending in the app reached approximately $1.7 million, representing a 64% decline from around $4.7 million during the same period in 2024. Time will reveal whether Candl succeeds or fails to gain enough traction.
