CHAI announced that it has exceeded its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule, reaching $48 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of October and projecting more than $50 million by year’s end. The Palo Alto-based social AI platform began 2025 with $20 million in recurring revenue, achieving a 2.5x growth rate over the course of the year. The company is positioning itself as one of the fastest-growing AI platforms, focusing on consumer engagement and AI companionship.
The company attributes its expansion to a concentrated approach to user acquisition. Rather than investing in broad marketing channels, CHAI directed its capital toward acquiring highly engaged, high-lifetime-value users. This focus contributed to a customer acquisition payback period expected to fall below one year, which is notably efficient within the consumer AI sector.
CHAI has also invested in deepening its research and development efforts. Strategic partnerships with AMD and CoreWeave provided compute resources and capital support, enabling the company to accelerate the development of its social large language models. These collaborations enabled continued technical improvements and sustained a competitive edge within a rapidly evolving market.
Product innovation further contributed to the company’s expansion. CHAI builds features based on direct user feedback and community interaction, resulting in new application enhancements during 2025 that increased both engagement and user retention. The platform enables users to create and interact with custom AI characters, and it has gained significant adoption, particularly among Gen Z audiences. The company initially scaled using the open-sourced GPT J language model. It was recognized as the first consumer AI platform to achieve one million users before the emergence of ChatGPT and Llama.
CHAI primarily operates as a mobile application and does not currently offer a web-based platform, although this may change in the future. The company has incorporated moderation and safety features designed to strike a balance between creative interaction and user guidelines. Many users rely on CHAI to create interactive storytelling environments and immersive conversational experiences.
CHAI was founded by William Beauchamp, who began building the platform in Cambridge in 2020 before relocating to Palo Alto to scale the company. CHAI continues to hire and describes its culture as fast-paced and focused on rapid iteration and product improvement.
