Immortality startup Eternos nabs $10.3M, pivots to personal AI that sounds like you

Robert LoCascio, the longtime founder and former CEO of LivePerson, is back with a bold new vision for artificial intelligence — one that blends technology, memory, and human identity.

After nearly 30 years leading the company that pioneered web chat in 1997, LoCascio stepped down in 2023. A year later, inspired by the rise of generative AI, he launched Eternos, a project designed to preserve people’s voices and life stories for their loved ones after they pass away.

Now, that idea has evolved — and so has its name. The company announced Tuesday that it has rebranded as Uare.ai and raised $10.3 million in seed funding led by Mayfield and Boldstart Ventures.

From Legacy Project to Living AI

Eternos first captured global attention after its first client, the terminally ill Michael Bommer, created a digital replica of himself by spending more than 25 hours in conversation with the company’s system.

While LoCascio initially envisioned a digital legacy service, he was surprised to discover that most early users weren’t preparing for death — they wanted a living digital extension of themselves.

That insight shifted the mission. Uare.ai is now building personalized AI models that replicate an individual’s knowledge, values, and personality — a system LoCascio calls the Human Life Model (HLM).

Unlike typical large language models (LLMs), which are trained on vast public datasets, Uare.ai’s HLMs are built exclusively on an individual’s own data, ensuring their AI reflects their authentic voice and expertise.

“You Own the Model”

“I started to realize that the big models are taking our datasets, and they’re getting smarter because of us,” LoCascio told TechCrunch. “We don’t have to take that path. You own the model, and you can share it and monetize it.”

With Uare.ai, individuals will be able to train their own AI replicas through a guided onboarding process. Users will respond to prompts about their life experiences — from their childhood to defining career moments — via text, voice, or video.

“We blend those personal stories with factual information about your life and profession,” LoCascio explained. “That gives us your model.”

Digital Twins for Professionals and Creators

The goal, according to LoCascio, is to make personal AIs practical tools for work and creativity. Once trained, a user’s digital twin could generate content, interact with clients, handle support, or even manage creative projects — all while maintaining the user’s unique tone and perspective.

Unlike other chatbots, such as Character.ai, which rely on large, shared models to fill in knowledge gaps, Uare.ai’s replicas will stay true to their source. “Our AIs will simply say ‘I don’t know’ if they can’t answer a question,” LoCascio said.

Revenue Model and Market Position

Uare.ai plans to generate income through subscription plans and by taking a share of the revenue earned by users who monetize their digital twins.

Investors see it as a potential breakthrough in personal AI. Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield, said the startup stands out because it targets individual professionals, not celebrities. “This could be transformative for people like CPAs or consultants,” Chaddha noted. “And with Robert’s track record, he’s uniquely positioned to build this.”

Personal AI Goes Mainstream

Uare.ai joins a growing field of startups exploring digital replication, including Sequoia-backed Delphi, which has drawn public figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger to share their knowledge through voice-based AI models.

But while others focus on celebrity personas, LoCascio’s vision for Uare.ai is more intimate — giving every individual ownership over their digital self.

“The highest bar for AI,” he said, “is replicating a human being.”