body { background: #06080c; color: #e5e9f0; margin: 0; } .rw-nojs-bar { max-width: 880px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 18px 16px 14px; } .rw-nojs-bar .rw-nojs-brand { font: 700 20px/1 Inter, system-ui, sans-serif; color: #e5e9f0; text-decoration: none; } .rw-nojs-nav { max-width: 880px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 0 16px 14px; border-bottom: 1px solid #1c2230; font: 500 14px/1.4 Inter, system-ui, sans-serif; } .rw-nojs-nav a { color: #6f9bff; margin: 0 14px 6px 0; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; } .rw-nojs-nav a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } .rw-nojs-note { max-width: 880px; margin: 12px auto 0; padding: 0 16px; font: 400 13px/1.5 Inter, system-ui, sans-serif; color: #8a93a6; } #root [data-rw-crawler] { max-width: 880px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 8px 16px 48px; font: 400 16px/1.65 Inter, system-ui, sans-serif; color: #e5e9f0; } #root [data-rw-crawler] a { color: #6f9bff; } #root [data-rw-crawler] h1 { font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.2; } #root [data-rw-crawler] h2 { font-size: 20px; margin-top: 28px; } #root [data-rw-crawler] img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; } #root [data-rw-crawler] ul { padding-left: 0; list-style: none; } #root [data-rw-crawler] li { margin: 0 0 18px; } #root [data-rw-crawler] .rw-pagination { margin: 28px 0 0; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px; align-items: baseline; } #root [data-rw-crawler] .rw-pagination strong { color: #e5e9f0; } .rw-nojs-footer { max-width: 880px; margin: 40px auto 0; padding: 22px 16px 44px; border-top: 1px solid #1c2230; font: 400 13px/1.6 Inter, system-ui, sans-serif; color: #8a93a6; } .rw-nojs-footer .rw-nojs-fcols { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 28px 40px; margin-bottom: 20px; } .rw-nojs-footer h2 { font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.05em; text-transform: uppercase; color: #b7c0d3; margin: 0 0 8px; } .rw-nojs-footer a { color: #6f9bff; text-decoration: none; display: block; margin: 0 0 5px; } .rw-nojs-footer a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } .rw-nojs-footer .rw-nojs-legal { font: 400 12px/1.6 Inter, system-ui, sans-serif; color: #6b7384; margin: 0; } .rw-nojs-footer .rw-nojs-legal a { display: inline; } RuntimeWire Investigations Stories AI Startups Venture Products Funding Exits Models Head-to-Head About You're browsing RuntimeWire with JavaScript disabled. Articles and navigation work fully. Interactive features — search, comments, and newsletter signup — require JavaScript.

heyyyyAI raises $10.5 million from one investor for AI character app

A Thinking Ape co-founders Wilkins Chung and Kenshi Arasaki are back in consumer apps after selling their game studio to Embracer.

By Ryan Merket · Published Aug 10, 2026, 2:09pm CT

Primary source: US Securities and Exchange Commission

Why it matters

The financing gives two founders with a proven record in mobile-game monetization substantial capital to test whether AI characters can become a durable consumer entertainment business.

Illustration of heyyyyAI characters forming on a mobile screen, colorful digital companions emerging as a hand reaches to interact

Wing-Hei Wilkins Chung and Kenshi Arasaki (@arasakik), the entrepreneurs who built Vancouver mobile-game developer A Thinking Ape, have raised $10.5 million for heyyyyAI Inc., their new consumer AI company.

A Form D filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on August 10th reports that heyyyyAI sold the entire offering to one investor. The first sale occurred on August 7th, three days before Chung signed the filing as chief financial officer.

Reader comments

Conversation for this story loads after sign-in.

Models in this story

OpenRouter Chat Completions [OpenAI Compatible]

Browse all AI models

Sections

Investigations Stories AI Startups Venture Products Funding Exits

Publication

About FAQ Contact Editorial Policy Corrections Policy Ethics

Tools

AI Model Pricing Head-to-Head

Legal

Privacy Terms