By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
IPX and Kindred Labs aim to make history by creating the first licensed AI companions with characters from Line Friends, BT21, Zo & Friends and more.
Through the partnership, Kindred Labs and IPX plan to create AI-powered companion experiences that bring expressive character personalities into everyday digital life through responsive, “emotionally resonant” interaction. In other words, your imaginary friend isn’t imaginary any more.
The partners say these new companions are being designed in a new form factor as a persistent character presence that lives on top of your screen, showing up in the flow of everyday moments, from desktop and mobile and eventually on emerging surfaces like smart glasses.
It isn’t just all fun and games though. Kindred says that beyond personality and expression, these companions are being built to function as powerful personal assistants, and potentially the primary way people use AI throughout their day, expressed through a friendly and familiar face.
Planned to launch in April 2026 globally excluding China, the partnership aligns with the 15th anniversary of Line Friends’ iconic character Brown, introducing a new way for fans to connect with Brown in daily life.
“The primary way people will experience their personal AI will be through something they genuinely love seeing every day,” says Kindred Labs CEO Max Giammario. “I can already imagine the delight fans will have when Brown starts showing up in their daily lives, like this familiar presence you’re happy to see.
“We’re taking these characters into a whole new paradigm, one that brings us closer to why we love them in the first place.”
The partnership was negotiated by Beanstalk, a division of CAA Brand Management, which represents IPX as its interactive licensing agent.
Kindred Labs describes itself as a “character-powered AI network” built on Sei, bringing officially licensed iconic IP to life as a constant, emotionally intelligent presence by your side.
The approach appears to be working, as Kindred is among the world’s fastest-growing AI companion startups, with over 8 million users on its waitlist.
To learn more about Kindred Labs, visit www.kindredlabs.ai.