Tolan Raises $30M to Double Total Funding for AI Companion App

Tolan, the startup behind a cartoonish AI companion app, has raised $30 million in a new funding round, according to TechCrunch. The round included returning and new investors such as Union Square Ventures, Khosla Ventures and Homebrew.

The new funding doubles Tolan's total raised to date, bringing the cumulative amount to $60 million. PitchBook estimates the company's valuation at more than $268 million, up from a previous valuation of $120 million before the round.

Tolan said its annual recurring revenue is in the double-digit millions. The company also claims more than 250,000 active users who have held over 70 million conversations in the past year. According to Tolan, about 70% of its users are women and 40% are parents.

The app uses a cartoonish character to offer support and help users with tasks, and it generates revenue through tiered memberships that are required for full access to features.

In October 2025, Character.ai filed for bankruptcy after its founders returned to Google, with remaining staff transitioning to Disney, which bought some of its assets. In the same month, Meta gave its AI agent Muse a cute avatar and said it plans to release it as a hardware product. Earlier, Friend's pendant-based AI companion drew criticism, with users calling it 'very cringe' and The New York Times calling it 'hated.' Multiple lawsuits have also been filed against general-purpose AI app makers alleging chatbot interactions contributed to users' suicides.