--- title: "Tech Exec Predicts Billion-Dollar AI Girlfriend Industry" description: "When witnessing the sorry state of men addicted to AI girlfriends, one Miami tech exec began seeing dollar signs instead of red flags." date: "2024-04-13" modified: "2024-04-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/tech-exec-ai-gf-industry" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai companion" - "ai girlfriend" - "chatbots" - "the digest" --- # Tech Exec Predicts Billion-Dollar AI Girlfriend Industry ![When witnessing the sorry state of men addicted to AI girlfriends, one Miami tech exec began seeing dollar signs instead of red flags.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## TFW AI GF When witnessing the sorry state of men [addicted to AI girlfriends](), one Miami tech exec saw dollar signs instead of red flags. In a [blog-length post on X-formerly-Twitter](), former WeWork exec Greg Isenberg said that after meeting a young guy who claims to spend $10,000 a month on so-called "AI girlfriends," or relationship-simulating chatbots, he realized that eventually, someone is going to capitalize upon that market the way Match Group has with dating apps. "I thought he was kidding," Isenberg wrote. "But, he's a 24-year-old single guy who loves it." To date, Match Group — which [owns]() Tinder, Hinge, Match.com, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish, and several others — has a [market cap]() of more than $9 billion. As the now-CEO of the Late Checkout holding company startup noted, someone is going to build the AI version and make a billion or more. During the exchange, Isenberg said that he was "speechless" when the young man explained his rationale, citing his ability to "play" with his AI paramours the way some people play video games, sending them voice notes and customizing their likes and dislikes as some of the reasons he spends so much money on the services. The unnamed guy told the tech bro that he is particularly into Candy.ai and Cupid.ai, [both of which]() allow for the kind of NSFW chatting that other apps ban. "It's kinda like dating apps," the AI GF aficionado told Isenberg. "You're not on only one." ## Hand It to Him Reactions varied. "The girlfriend Singularity is here," [wrote disgraced "Dilbert" cartoonist](). "Human women had a good run." "This will be someone you know soon," [another posted](), "although they may not admit it." Indeed, while there's been lots of, er, [prurient]() [interest]() in the lives of those humans who prefer AI companionship to the real thing, less consideration has been taken for the way this burgeoning field could well make some early investors money — even as it furthers the dearth of [IRL connection]() and interaction that [so many people]() are craving. As Isenberg himself said in his post, "things are about to get pretty weird" — which feels like a potential understatement. **More on AI companions:** [*Warning: “AI Girlfriends” Are Hoarding Your Personal Data*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()