What if booking a cab, sending a message or managing a meeting required nothing more than a flick of your thumb? Bengaluru- and San Francisco-based startup startup Aina believes the next phase of artificial intelligence will be less about asking machines questions and more about letting them anticipate what people need. At a private launch event in Bengaluru, the startup unveiled an AI-powered smart ring that combines a colour display, voice commands and gesture-based controls. Priced at $499 (Rs 47,000), the device is available for pre-order at a limited early-bird price starting at $399 (Rs 37,700), with shipments expected to begin in January 2027. Unlike conventional smart rings, which largely focus on health and fitness tracking, Aina wants its device to become an everyday interface between users and AI agents. The premise is simple: AI agents are getting smarter, but using them still involves unlocking phones, navigating apps and approving individual actions. Aina wants to reduce that friction. Its proposition revolves around a question displayed during the launch presentation: What if AI didn't wait to be asked?

To simplify these interactions, Aina has built its ring around three features: Cues, Voice and Remote.

Cues uses contextual information, including routines and connected applications, to anticipate what users might want to do next. For instance, if someone regularly books a cab around the same time each morning, the ring could suggest booking a ride without waiting for an explicit request. At the launch event, Aina demonstrated a ride-booking interaction that illustrated how everyday transactions could be completed through minimal gestures.

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