Napster, the iconic music-sharing brand, has reinvented itself as an AI company, launching the Napster 26 platform and Napster View, a $99 holographic display for AI companions. The move marks a high-stakes bet on hardware in a software-dominated field.
- Beyond the chatbot: The company’s big idea is to move past text-based interactions by giving AI a physical presence. The View is a glasses-free 3D display that clips onto a laptop, projecting what Napster calls "embodied 3D collaborators" from a library of over 15,000 specialized AI assistants.
- Your digital twin: A key feature is the ability for users to create an AI-powered "digital twin" of themselves, which can then attend meetings or collaborate with colleagues on their behalf. The system also touts a "privacy-first" approach, with push-to-talk activation that prevents the AI from listening or watching without permission.
- A new playbook: The pivot follows the company's acquisition by metaverse firm Infinite Reality in March 2025 and a leadership change five months ago that saw co-founder John Acunto take the helm as CEO after Jon Vlassopulos stepped down. The platform is launching exclusively on Mac, a decision the company attributes to the processing power of Apple's silicon.
Napster is betting that in a world of intangible software, a physical interface for AI is the key to standing out. Its success will depend on whether users are willing to pay for a dedicated The hardware play enters a crowded field, with Apple, OpenAI, and Meta all reportedly working on their own AI devices. The launch has also been met with some industry skepticism, with some outlets questioning if the device is truly a hologram.