Sesame iOS app launches with conversational AI from Oculus founders
Sesame, founded by Oculus veterans, launched its iOS app this week with conversational AI agents designed for more natural back-and-forth interactions.
Sesame, a conversational AI startup founded by Oculus veterans, launched its iOS app on May 28, 2026, bringing AI agents to consumers for the first time. The app emphasizes natural back-and-forth dialogue designed to feel less like traditional chatbots and more like talking to a person, with features like multi-turn memory and conversational state tracking.
The founders previously built Oculus before its $2 billion acquisition by Facebook in 2014. Their entry into conversational AI positions Sesame in the closed-model camp, competing more directly with Character.AI and Replika than with open-weight alternatives. The iOS-first strategy mirrors the consumer AI playbook of recent years: ship on Apple's platform, gather user data, iterate on engagement metrics, then expand to Android if traction holds. No pricing details or subscription tiers were disclosed.
