Omi, a New Portable AI Device, Tries to Read Your Thoughts.

Nik Shevchenko closes his eyes and deeply concentrates. For the last half hour, he has been talking to me about his new product, a portable device called Omi that costs $89 and has the ability to listen, summarize, and extract information from conversations. Now, he is about to show me what he considers the future. With his eyes closed, he directs all his attention toward a small white device taped to his left temple, which is quite distracting.

“What do you think about The Verge as a news site?” Shevchenko asks, not addressing anyone in particular. After about fifteen seconds of waiting, his phone emits a notification containing AI-generated information about The Verge's reputation as a news source. Shevchenko seems excited, but also a bit relieved. The device has been able to read his brainwaves to understand that he was talking to it and not to me, and it responded to his question without any prompt.

So far, this is the only thing Omi can do in terms of brain-computer interface. Shevchenko mentions that the device is quite fragile: “It only understands one channel; it’s a single electrode.” What he really aims to develop is a device that recognizes when you are talking to it and when you are not, with the hope that it will eventually be able to understand and store your thoughts. Although he describes it as science fiction, he believes it may be feasible in two years. If this comes to fruition, he thinks it could change the way we interact with our AI devices.

For now, the real purpose of Omi is much simpler: it is a device that continuously listens and can be worn around the neck. Its battery lasts about three days on a single charge. It doesn’t require a wake word, allowing you to speak to it directly since it’s always on. Omi can be described as 80% companion and 20% assistant like Alexa. This device is capable of summarizing meetings or conversations and offering you to-do tasks. During our conversation, Shevchenko mentioned the price of Bitcoin, and a few seconds later, he received a notification with the answer to his question from the Omi app.

For Shevchenko, Omi acts mainly as a personal mentor. He recounts that he was born in a remote place on an island near Japan and always wished to be closer to the technological visionaries he admired as a young person. For years, he tried to reach out to people like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk for advice, but he didn’t get much response. With no real options, he decided to create his own tool. Omi already has a feature called “People,” which allows you to create a bot that mimics any user on X just by entering their username. When he shares his screen, you can see that he has been interacting with an AI simulating Elon Musk. “It helps me understand what I should work on tomorrow,” says Shevchenko. “Or when I’m talking to someone and don’t know the answer, it gives me a little nudge; sometimes it tells me I’m wrong.” His wearable has constantly reminded him to rest more since he heard himself say that he felt sick.

The technological foundation of Omi is actually quite simple, as it is based on a microphone. However, the artificial intelligence is what represents the true innovation. Most people won’t use Omi in the same way that Shevchenko does. The product is expected to ship broadly in the second quarter of this year, and he mentions that the 5,000 people who have a preview version of the device use it to remember things, look up information, and perform common tasks that AI assistants usually do.

Omi shares similarities with other devices, like the Limitless Pendant and a wearable called Friend. Shevchenko had previously accused the CEO of Friend, Avi Schiffmann, of appropriating his work, leading to a series of exchanges on social media and even a rap critique. The Omi device was called Friend for a time, but the name change was to avoid confusion and because Schiffmann purchased Friend.com for $1.8 million, giving it significant visibility in searches.

Shevchenko is confident that Omi can surpass those other devices. All of Omi's code is open-source, and there are already 250 apps available in its store. The company’s focus is to become a broad platform rather than just a specific device or app; the device itself is only part of the whole. Omi uses models from OpenAI and Meta to rapidly improve its product. Although there are underlying concerns, it is evident that current AI models are already advanced enough to be considered genuine companions for millions of people. What these “friend bots” require is more data about you and more ways to assist you. Omi proposes that the first step is a microphone that is always on, followed by an app store, and eventually, integration of brain technology.