Vertu wants CEOs to run companies from the AI ​​foldable starting at $6,880

Luxury smartphone brand Vertu on Thursday unveiled a foldable phone powered by an AI assistant that integrates with business apps and streamlines workflows. The company is looking for executives who manage business operations and communication in travel.

Called Alphafold, the foldable smartphone starts at $6,880 for the cowhide version. The premium models feature bespoke finishes including alligator leather, 18K gold, and natural diamond accents, as well as custom details. This continues Vertu’s old strategy of positioning its phones as luxury brands aimed at affluent consumers. The company told TechCrunch that its top model is currently priced at $46,800, with additional options.

The launch marks Vertu’s latest attempt to reposition itself in the AI ​​era after struggling to stay relevant in today’s tech market. A company based in Hong Kong, once known for high-end phones and concierge services popular among wealthy consumers before the iPhone came out, it said changed ownership several times over the years smartphone manufacturers have come to dominate the industry. Even so, Vertu is betting Alphafold can help bring back the quality of the AI ​​era by combining advanced hardware with business-oriented AI capabilities.

Vertu’s Alphafold comes with Hermes Agent, built on top of the Hermes open source project by Nous Research. The agent can interface with business systems such as ERP and CRM, and coordinate tasks such as admissions, scheduling, sales tracking, travel planning, and operational reporting using natural languages. However, the company said that its Phone-to-ERP and VPS deployment will be customized for each customer based on their existing business needs, with prices varying accordingly.

Alphafold, Vertu said, can send requests to several AI models including OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and selected open models, and integrate with more than 80 applications and many local phone services on the platform.

AI features available on smartphones from major manufacturers remain focused on consumer devices such as photo editing and voice support, Vertu CEO Molly Ma said. This leaves room for more advanced AI-agent workflows built by businesses. He cited previous AI-agent experiments in China which he became famous before meeting data privacy issues and data collection using the cloud.

Alphafold, Ma said, aims to address these concerns by using an architecture that includes the A5 security device. This silicon is designed to separate authentication keys, biometric information, and business information from the main system, the company said. It added that data involved in marketing can be processed locally on the device, while data sent to external AI models is processed or modified before leaving the phone.

Although Vertu has emphasized the privacy and security of the device, including on-device maintenance and data recovery, the company said that the system has not been tested by third-party security or independent certification. However, Vertu told TechCrunch that independent audits and certifications remain part of its security strategy “as a follow-up commitment,” adding that it would “make the process and results public” as the product grows.

The Alphafold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor and features an 8.05-inch curved screen along with a 6.53-inch external display, a 6,500mAh battery, and satellite connectivity capabilities. The device also includes a triple rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary and ultrawide camera, as well as a 5-megapixel telephoto lens. Vertu said the phone’s hinge uses steel, titanium, and carbon-fiber materials and is rated for up to 650,000 wear.

The Alphafold is not Vertu’s first attempt to combine AI with foldable devices. The company last year introduced Agent Qa clamshell-style foldable smartphone that focuses on AI-powered transport and functionality.

However, Ma told TechCrunch that Alphafold represents a major step forward from Agent Q, arguing that AI-agent technology has grown rapidly over the past year, with improvements in memory, automation and software integration.

Mobile phones remain a huge part of the world despite years of investment by major manufacturers including Samsung and Huawei. 20 million foldable phones will be shipped worldwide in 2025, accounting for 2% of all shipments, according to data IDC shared with TechCrunch. The research firm said foldables sold for an average price of about $1,300 last year — nearly three times the price of non-foldable phones.

Kiranjeet Kaur, director of mobile research at IDC, said that warehouses can benefit from AI-agent workflows because their large displays are suitable for multitasking and interactive experiences. He, however, added that the adoption of business AI on mobile phones still lags behind that of desktops, and that many smartphone business decisions continue to be driven by the integration of the ecosystem and support for device management rather than AI capabilities.

The first batch of 115 units of Vertu’s Alphafold will start shipping this week in major markets including the US.