AI companionship: An Interview with Dmytro Klochko, CEO of Replika
As part of their research on AI companions in the personal sphere Michaela Pfadenhauer, Marvin Waibel, and Andrea Heisse are conducting interviews with experts on AI companion apps. The project aims to analyze the communicative form of AI companionship and to examine how it is realized in app design and interaction.
The following interview was conducted with Dmytro Klochko, the CEO of Replika. Launched in 2017, Replika is one of the first AI companion apps and has over 40 million users today. In the interview, Dmytro, who has led the company since December 2024, discussed his vision for AI companionship and the role of intentionality, communication, and human flourishing. The interviewee consented to the online publication of the interview transcript. The transcript has been edited for clarity and flow.
You can find the full interview in English here.
22. May 2026
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp
ZeMKI, Center for Media, Communication and Information Research
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-67620
Assistent Mrs. Schober: +49 421 218-67603
E-mail: andreas.hepp@uni-bremen.de
