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

Luxury smartphone brand Vertu on Thursday unveiled a foldable phone powered by an AI agent that connects to enterprise software and coordinates workflows. The company focuses on managers who manage operations and communications on the go.

The foldable smartphone, called Alphafold, starts at $6,880 for the calfskin version. The higher-end models feature custom finishes including alligator leather, 18K gold and natural diamond accents, along with custom detailing. This is a continuation of Vertu’s long-standing strategy of positioning its phones as luxury status symbols aimed at affluent buyers. The company told TechCrunch that its highest standard model currently costs $46,800, with further customization options.

The launch marks Vertu’s latest attempt to reinvent itself for the AI ​​age, after struggling to stay relevant in the modern smartphone market. The Hong Kong-headquartered company, once known for its luxury handsets and concierge services that were popular among wealthy buyers before the rise of the iPhone, has changed hands several times over the years as mainstream smartphone makers came to dominate the industry. Nevertheless, Vertu is betting that the Alphafold can help reinvent the brand for the AI ​​era by combining luxury hardware with enterprise AI capabilities.

Vertu’s Alphafold comes with Hermes Agent, built on top of Nous Research’s open-source Hermes project. The agent can connect to enterprise systems such as ERP and CRM, and coordinate tasks such as approvals, scheduling, sales tracking, travel planning and operational reporting through natural language prompts. However, the company said that the Phone-to-ERP and VPS implementations would be tailor-made for each customer depending on their existing business systems, with prices varying accordingly.

The Alphafold, Vertu says, can route requests across multiple AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and select open-source models, while also integrating with more than 80 apps and dozens of native phone functions for cross-platform workflows.

Existing AI features on smartphones from major manufacturers remain largely focused on consumer tools such as image editing and voice support, according to Vertu CEO Molly Ma. This leaves room for more advanced AI agent workflows linked to enterprise systems. She also pointed to previous experiments with AI agent smartphones in China gained popularity before you are confronted data privacy challenges and cloud-based data collection.

The Alphafold, Ma said, aims to address these concerns through a privacy-focused architecture with its own A5 security chip. This silicon is designed to isolate authentication keys, biometrics and sensitive business information from the main operating system, the company said. It added that commercially sensitive data can be processed locally on the device, while cues sent to remote AI models are redacted or tokenized before leaving the phone.

While Vertu has emphasized the device’s privacy and security architecture, including on-device processing and data redaction features, the company said the system has not yet undergone third-party security audits or independent certification. However, Vertu told TechCrunch that independent audits and certifications will remain on the security roadmap “as an explicit commitment for the next phase,” adding that it would “publicly communicate progress and results” as the product matures further.

The Alphafold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor and features an 8.05-inch foldable display alongside a 6.53-inch outer screen, a 6,500 mAh battery and satellite communications capabilities. The device also includes a triple rear camera setup with 50-megapixel primary and ultra-wide cameras, as well as 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 first attempt to combine AI with foldable devices. The company last year introduced Agent Qa clamshell-style foldable smartphone focused on AI-powered automation and productivity features.

However, Ma told TechCrunch that Alphafold represents a significant step forward over Agent Q, arguing that AI agent technology has matured rapidly over the past year, with improvements in memory, automation and app integration.

Foldable smartphones remain a niche segment worldwide, despite years of investment by major manufacturers including Samsung and Huawei. As many as 20 million foldable smartphones will be shipped worldwide by 2025, representing less than 2% of total smartphone shipments, according to IDC data shared with TechCrunch. The research firm said foldable smartphones sold for an average price of about $1,300 last year – about three times the price of non-folding smartphones.

Kiranjeet Kaur, associate research director for mobile phone research at IDC, said foldable devices could ultimately benefit from AI agent workflows because their larger screens are better suited for multitasking and productivity-oriented experiences. However, she added that AI adoption on smartphones still lags behind that of computers, and most business smartphone decisions are still driven by ecosystem integration and device management support rather than AI capabilities.

The first batch of 115 units of Vertu’s Alphafold will ship this week to key markets including the US