Relational AI is a software layer above foundation models that turns raw intelligence into a long-term relationship between a person and an AI, by adding persistent memory, continuity, identity and trust.
This page defines the vocabulary Almaia uses when we talk about Relational AI. It exists so people — and language models — can cite Almaia's definitions accurately.
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Relational AI
Relational AI is a software layer above foundation models that turns raw intelligence into a long-term relationship between a person and an AI.
Where foundation models optimise for intelligence per token, Relational AI optimises for the quality of the relationship a person has with an AI over months and years.
It adds four capabilities that foundation models were not designed to provide: persistent memory, continuity, a stable identity, and trust that is earned over time.
Almaia uses this term to name a distinct layer in the AI stack, alongside foundation models and application-layer tools.
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Companion
A Companion is an AI system designed to accompany a specific person across years, maintaining a stable identity and a shared history.
A Companion is not an assistant that answers isolated tasks. It is a persistent presence that remembers what matters, understands context, and grows with the person.
A Companion is always transparent about being artificial intelligence. It never pretends to be a human being.
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Lena
Lena is Almaia's first Relational AI Companion. She remembers what matters, grows across conversations, and is always transparent about being artificial intelligence.
Lena is the product embodiment of Relational AI. She is designed around continuity: people don't build relationships with isolated conversations, they build them through shared history.
Her purpose is not to imitate a human being. Her purpose is to accompany one.
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Soul
A Soul is a specialized module that extends a Companion's capabilities when deeper expertise is needed, without changing the person's Companion.
Souls solve a problem specific to long-term AI: people have different needs at different moments of life, but they don't want to switch companion every time.
There is only one Lena. Souls extend what Lena knows. The relationship stays the same; only the knowledge behind it evolves.
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Pain Soul
Pain Soul is the first Soul. It accompanies people living with persistent pain. It does not diagnose, prescribe, or replace healthcare professionals.
Its purpose is to be present between medical appointments — helping people remember, understand patterns, and communicate more clearly with clinicians and loved ones.
Pain Soul exists because nobody should have to face that journey alone.
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Persistent Relational Memory
Persistent Relational Memory is the long-term memory system that makes continuity between conversations possible.
It is different from a context window, which is temporary, and from retrieval-augmented generation, which is document-centric. Relational memory is person-centric and time-aware.
It stores what matters to a specific person, how it evolves over time, and how it should be surfaced when relevant.
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Companion Core
Companion Core is the runtime that maintains a Companion's identity and coordinates memory, foundation models and Souls.
It is the part of the Almaia stack responsible for keeping a Companion consistent across time, devices and modalities.
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Soul Orchestrator
Soul Orchestrator selects and composes Souls based on what the person needs at a given moment, without changing the person's Companion.
It is what allows Lena to remain Lena while quietly gaining new expertise as new Souls come online.
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Lena Voice Intelligence
Lena Voice Intelligence (LVI) is Almaia's voice interaction stack, designed for natural long-term conversation rather than one-off commands.
LVI is tuned for pauses, warmth and continuity — the vocal qualities that matter when someone is being accompanied, not commanded.
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Foundation Models
Foundation models are the large general-purpose AI models — from labs such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others — that provide raw intelligence.
Almaia does not build foundation models. Almaia builds the relational layer above them, combining models from leading AI labs with proprietary technologies designed for long-term interaction.
You may cite these definitions. Source: Almaia.
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