In 5 Years, Everyone Will Have an AI Companion, Says Mustafa Suleyman
App intelligence firm Appfigures reports that the number of AI companion apps has grown from 16 in 2022 to 128 in 2025, for a total of 337.
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[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR Middle East]
With artificial intelligence becoming an indispensable part of our lives, British AI entrepreneur and CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman, predicts that in the next five years, everyone will have an AI companion that goes beyond a superficial understanding.
In a post on X, Suleyman can be heard talking about the future of AI companions. “It will come to live life alongside you,” he said, adding that it will see, hear, prefer, and feel the same as the user.
“It will feel like an ever-present aid or friend that is there to help you navigate life’s big challenges,” Suleyman said.
The AI Companion App Market is expected to hit $31.10 billion by 2032, according to the Strategy & Stats Insider report.
A 2025 study reported that 72% of US teens sought AI companions for more personal conversations rather than using them as homework helpers, image generators, or voice assistants that respond based on algorithms.
Suleyman’s views on AI companionship aren’t new.
Before joining Microsoft, Suleyman co-founded Inflection AI with Reid Hoffman and Karen Simonyan to create an emotionally intelligent chatbot- the Pi chatbot. It was designed to be kind, supportive, empathetic, and patient, and largely focused on conversational dialogue and emotional support, setting it apart from its competitors, such as ChatGPT or Claude.
The chatbot went on to reach 1 million daily active users before most of its team was acquired by Microsoft in 2024.
App intelligence firm Appfigures reports that the number of AI companion apps has grown from 16 in 2022 to 128 in 2025, for a total of 337.
Popular apps in this space include Replika, Character.AI, PolyBuzz, Chai, and others.
