Chinese Startup Vivalink Promises the World's First Agentic AI Phone

When you hear the name Vivalink, you probably don’t picture the next big thing in mobile computing. It’s a modest‑sized design house out of Shenzhen that until last month was best known for manufacturing niche tablets for schools. Yet, in a surprisingly bold move, the company announced that it is developing what it calls the first truly "agentic" AI smartphone.

What does “agentic” actually mean in this context? In plain English, Vivalink’s engineers want a phone that does more than answer a question or set a reminder. They envision an on‑device artificial intelligence that can understand a user’s goals, propose solutions, and even carry out multi‑step actions without being prompted each time. Think of an assistant that not only says, “Your flight is at 3 p.m.” but also books a taxi, orders a coffee for you, and nudges you if the traffic looks bad.

The prototype, rumored to be called the V‑One, is said to pack a custom‑built Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that rivals the chips found in flagship phones from Apple and Samsung. According to Vivalink’s CTO, the NPU can run a 10‑billion‑parameter language model entirely offline, meaning the phone can keep its brain “on‑device” and protect user privacy.

Vivalink isn’t doing this in isolation. The company has struck a partnership with a well‑known AI research lab—details are still under wraps—but the collaboration supposedly gives the V‑One access to a proprietary large‑language model fine‑tuned for mobile contexts. The model has been trained on a mix of public data and anonymized usage logs, enabling it to understand everything from natural‑language commands to subtle habits like the time you usually start your morning jog.

From a design standpoint, the phone is expected to look familiar—a 6.5‑inch OLED display, sleek aluminum frame, and a triple‑camera setup. The real surprise is the software stack. Vivalink says the AI will be woven into the operating system, allowing it to intervene in apps, schedule events, and even suggest optimized battery‑saving routines based on your daily rhythm.

Of course, there are skeptics. Critics point out that Apple’s Siri and Google’s Assistant already claim some level of proactive behavior, and that training a massive model on a phone could drain power or generate heat. Vivalink counters that its NPU’s efficiency is comparable to the latest Snapdragon chips, and that the AI runs in short bursts rather than constantly.

If the V‑One makes it to market, it could push the whole industry toward more autonomous devices—something that most big players have hinted at but not fully delivered. For now, Vivalink is targeting a late‑2025 release, with pre‑orders slated for early next year. Whether the world is ready for a phone that can truly think for itself remains to be seen, but the ambition alone is turning a few heads in the tech community.