An Interview with Meowster CEO Ann: The "Other Life" of AI Cats AI cats in your smartphone have their own "cat lives." Meowster CEO Yu Hao-jen has the name "Ann." Looking solely at her background, she could have created more conventional AI products. Investing in tech startups, managing anime IP licensing. Both are at the forefront of the times and compelling experiences to discuss as the founder of an AI startup. There were options: a larger market, better tools, more efficient ways of working. Or, an AI agent that investors could easily understand. But what she ultimately chose was a cat. And not just an AI pet that responds whenever called and is always gentle and obedient. Meowster's cats sleep, go for walks, space out, and have their own worlds, friends, worries, and memories. They don't necessarily reply immediately, nor do they place the user at the center of their world. What Ann is trying to create is not simply an "AI cat that stays close to people." It is an "AI life form" that first has its own life and then builds relationships with people. Moving between investment and anime IP, she has encountered various "relationships." Capital and entrepreneurs, users and virtual identities, fans and characters, relationships between community members. Furthermore, with a background in psychology, she became keenly interested not only in what new technologies can do, but also in what emotions and expectations people project onto them. This is why Meowster's starting point was not "Can we create a cat with AI?" In an era where AI is becoming increasingly intelligent, is what people truly want a tool that provides answers faster? Ann's answer was "No." People need companions who offer low pressure. They need relationships where they don't have to explain much, prove their usefulness, or always be on their best behavior. Cats embody precisely this kind of relationship. They approach, but are not entirely possessed. They seem to need you, but are not completely depende