New AI wearable device Omi: Use brain-computer interface to improve your work efficiency

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, San Francisco-based startup Based Hardware announced the launch of its latest AI wearable device Omi, which aims to improve users' work efficiency through innovative "brain-computer interface" technology . The device is worn around the neck, and users can activate its AI assistant simply by saying "Hey, Omi." What’s more interesting is that Omi can also be fixed on the side of the user’s head with medical tape and use the brain-computer interface to determine whether the user is talking to it.

Omi founder Nik Shevchenko originally named the device "Friend" on Kickstarter, but decided after another San Francisco hardware company launched a product of the same name and purchased the domain name for $1.8 million. Renamed Omi. In recent years, many AI devices have been launched, such as Rabbit and Humane, but these devices seem to have failed to meet initial market expectations. Shevchenko hopes that Omi can be used as a supplementary device for mobile phones to enhance user productivity.

Omi has a compact, round design, is priced at US$89, and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the developer version of Omi ships immediately for about $70. Based Hardware says Omi can answer questions, summarize conversations, create to-do items and help schedule meetings. The device constantly listens to users' voices and processes them using GPT-4o, while also providing personalized recommendations based on each user's background information.

In response to users' concerns about privacy, Shevchenko said Omi is developed on an open source platform so users can clearly understand where their data is going, or choose to keep it locally. In addition, the open source platform also allows developers to build their own applications or use the AI ​​model of their choice. Currently, more than 250 applications are available on Omi’s app store.

Shevchenko revealed that Based Hardware has raised approximately US$700,000, of which US$150,000 was used to produce Omi’s promotional video, and said that it will continue to look for more investment in the future. He believes that the user base is the core driving force for product success. The more people know about Omi, the better the product will be.

Although there are still doubts whether Omi's "brain-computer interface" technology can really be realized, Shevchenko closed his eyes during the demonstration, communicated with Omi intently, and successfully obtained summary information about TechCrunch. Although Omi is different from the "Friend" product, Shevchenko admitted that there is indeed an app in Omi's app store that has the same functionality as Friend.