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

Luxury smartphone marque Vertu connected Thursday unveiled a foldable telephone powered by an AI cause that connects with endeavor bundle and coordinates workflows. The institution is targeting executives who negociate concern operations and communications connected the move.

Called the Alphafold, the foldable smartphone starts astatine $6,880 for the calfskin version. Higher-end models diagnostic bespoke finishes including alligator leather, 18K gold, and earthy diamond accents, on with customized detailing. This continues Vertu’s long-standing strategy of positioning its phones arsenic luxury presumption symbols aimed astatine affluent buyers. The institution told TechCrunch that its highest-end modular exemplary is presently priced astatine $46,800, with further customization options available.

The motorboat marks Vertu’s latest effort to reinvent itself for the AI epoch aft struggling to stay applicable successful the modern smartphone market. The Hong Kong-headquartered company, erstwhile known for luxury handsets and concierge services fashionable among affluent buyers earlier the emergence of the iPhone, has changed ownership aggregate times implicit the years arsenic mainstream smartphone makers came to predominate the industry. Nonetheless, Vertu is betting the Alphafold tin assistance reinvent the marque for the AI epoch by combining luxury hardware with enterprise-focused AI capabilities.

Vertu’s Alphafold comes with Hermes Agent, built connected apical of the open-source Hermes task by Nous Research. The cause tin link to endeavor systems similar ERP and CRM, and coordinate tasks specified arsenic approvals, scheduling, income tracking, question planning, and operational reporting done natural-language prompts. However, the institution said that its Phone-to-ERP and VPS deployments would beryllium customized for each lawsuit depending connected their existing endeavor systems, with pricing varying accordingly.

Image Credits:Vertu

The Alphafold, Vertu said, tin way requests crossed aggregate AI models including OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and selected open-source models, portion besides integrating with much than 80 apps and dozens of autochthonal telephone functions for cross-platform workflows.

Existing AI features connected smartphones from large manufacturers stay focused mostly connected user tools specified arsenic representation editing and dependable assistance, Vertu CEO Molly Ma said. This leaves country for much precocious AI-agent workflows tied to endeavor systems. She besides pointed to earlier AI-agent smartphone experiments successful China that gained popularity earlier facing challenges implicit information privacy and cloud-based information collection.

The Alphafold, Ma said, aims to code those concerns done a privacy-focused architecture featuring a proprietary A5 information chip. This silicon is designed to isolate authentication keys, biometric credentials, and delicate endeavor accusation from the main operating system, the institution said. It added that commercially delicate information tin beryllium processed locally connected the device, portion prompts sent to outer AI models are redacted oregon tokenized earlier leaving the phone.

While Vertu has emphasized the device’s privateness and information architecture, including on-device processing and information redaction features, the institution said the strategy has not yet undergone third-party information audits oregon autarkic certification. However, Vertu told TechCrunch that autarkic audits and certification stay connected its information roadmap “as an explicit next-stage commitment,” adding that it would “communicate the advancement and the results publicly” erstwhile the merchandise matures further.

The Alphafold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor and features an 8.05-inch foldable show alongside a 6.53-inch outer screen, a 6,500mAh battery, and outer connection capabilities. The instrumentality besides includes a triple rear camera setup with 50-megapixel superior and ultrawide cameras, arsenic good arsenic a 5-megapixel telephoto lens. Vertu said the phone’s hinge uses metal, titanium, and carbon-fiber components and is rated for up to 650,000 folds.

The Alphafold is not Vertu’s archetypal effort to harvester AI with foldable devices. The institution past twelvemonth introduced Agent Q, a clamshell-style foldable smartphone focused connected AI-driven automation and productivity features.

However, Ma told TechCrunch that Alphafold represents a important measurement guardant from Agent Q, arguing that AI-agent exertion has matured rapidly implicit the past year, with improvements successful memory, automation and app integration.

Foldable smartphones stay a niche conception globally contempt years of concern by large manufacturers including Samsung and Huawei. As galore arsenic 20 cardinal foldable smartphones were shipped globally successful 2025, accounting for little than 2% of full smartphone shipments, according to IDC information shared with TechCrunch. The probe steadfast said foldables sold astatine an mean terms of astir $1,300 past twelvemonth — astir 3 times the terms of non-foldable smartphones.

Kiranjeet Kaur, subordinate probe manager for mobile phones probe astatine IDC, said foldables could yet payment from AI-agent workflows due to the fact that their larger displays are amended suited for multitasking and productivity-oriented experiences. She, however, added that endeavor AI adoption connected smartphones inactive lags down computers, and that astir endeavor smartphone decisions proceed to beryllium driven by ecosystem integration and instrumentality absorption enactment alternatively than AI capabilities.

The archetypal 115-unit batch of Vertu’s Alphafold begins shipping this week crossed large markets including the U.S.