Lingverse, a Singapore-based smart hardware and AI company, has raised $29 million to develop iKairos, a wearable AI device designed to observe its wearer and their surroundings in order to anticipate their needs before they ask for help. The device is pitched as a "personal AI guardian" that swivels to face either the user or the environment around them, giving its underlying AI more context about daily life. The project highlights growing interest in proactive, always-on AI companions, but also raises fresh questions about privacy, consent and how comfortable people are with a device that watches them closely.

Lingverse says the two-way viewing capability, toward the user and outward toward their surroundings, is intended to deepen the AI's understanding of a person's circumstances so it can offer more useful, timely assistance. The company frames this constant observation as a trade-off: greater convenience and personalisation in exchange for the device needing close, ongoing access to the wearer's life. Details on release timing, pricing or specific features beyond the funding and concept remain limited at this stage.