AI startup Friend’s New York subway ad blitz met with vandalism, backlash

New York City’s subway system is currently covered with ads for Friend, an AI startup selling a $129 wearable “companion” device. The campaign, launched September 25, spans more than 11,000 car cards, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels across all five boroughs.

The stark black-and-white ads feature promises like “I’ll never leave dirty dishes in the sink,” “I’ll never bail on our dinner plans,” and “I’ll binge the entire series with you.” But the rollout has triggered widespread criticism, with many posters defaced with graffiti reading “AI trash,” “surveillance capitalism,” and “stop profiting off of loneliness.” Commuters have also ripped ads down, leaving messages such as “AI wouldn’t care if you lived or died” and “this is surveillance.”

Friend’s 22-year-old founder, Harvard dropout Avi Schiffmann, told Adweek the backlash was intentional. “I know people in New York hate AI, and things like AI companionship and wearables, probably more than anywhere else in the country. So I bought more ads than anyone has ever done with a lot of white space so that they would socially comment on the topic.”

Largest NYC subway campaign ever

Happening now pic.twitter.com/xOtxMsh4pj

— Avi (@AviSchiffmann) September 26, 2025

Schiffmann launched Friend in April 2023 and has raised around $7 million in venture funding. The company’s flagship product- a wearable that hangs around the neck and continuously listens- has already sparked privacy concerns.

While the firm says user data will not be sold for marketing, its policy notes information may be used for research and “to comply with legal obligations, including those under the GDPR, CCPA, and any other relevant privacy laws, and to protect the rights, privacy, safety, or property of our users, Friend, or third parties.”