Luxury smartphone brand Vertu on Thursday unveiled a foldable phone powered by an AI agent that connects to company software and coordinates workflows. The company targets executives who manage business operations and communications on the go.
Called the Alphafold, the foldable smartphone starts at $6,880 for the calfskin version. Higher-end models feature special finishes such as alligator leather, 18-karat gold and natural diamond accents, along with custom details. This continues Vertu’s long-standing strategy of positioning its phones as luxury symbols aimed at affluent buyers. The company told TechCrunch that its top-spec model is currently priced at $46,800, with further customization options available.
The launch marks Vertu’s latest attempt to reinvent itself for the age of artificial intelligence, after struggling to stay relevant in the modern smartphone market. The Hong Kong-based company, once known for luxury devices and concierge services popular with wealthy shoppers before the rise of the iPhone, has changed ownership several times over the years as major smartphone makers have come to dominate the industry. But Vertu is betting that Alphafold can help reinvent the brand for the age of AI, combining luxury hardware with business-focused AI capabilities.
Vertu’s Alphafold comes with Hermes Agent, built on top of the Hermes open source project by Nous Research. 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 via natural language messaging. However, the company said Phone-to-ERP and VPS deployments will be customized for each customer based on existing enterprise systems, with pricing varying accordingly.
Alphafold, Vertu said, can route requests to multiple AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini and select open-source models, and also integrates with more than 80 apps and dozens of native phone features for cross-platform workflows.
Existing AI features in smartphones from major manufacturers remain largely focused on consumer tools such as image processing and voice assistance, said Vertu CEO Molly Ma. This leaves room for more advanced AI agent workflows connected to enterprise systems. He also pointed to previous AI agent smartphone experiments in China gained popularity before you face data privacy challenges and cloud-based data collection.
Alphafold, Ma said, aims to address these concerns through a privacy-focused architecture that features a proprietary A5 security chip. This silicon is designed to isolate authentication keys, biometric credentials and sensitive corporate information from the main operating system, the company said. He added that commercially sensitive data can be processed locally on the device, while prompts sent to external AI models are restructured or discreet before they leave the phone.
While Vertu has emphasized the device’s privacy and security architecture, including on-device processing and data processing features, the company said the system has yet to undergo third-party security audits or independent certification. However, Vertu told TechCrunch that independent audits and certification remain on the security roadmap “as an explicit next-stage commitment,” adding that it will “publicly communicate progress and results” once the product matures further.
The Alphafold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor and features an 8.05-inch foldable display along with a 6.53-inch external display, a 6,500mAh battery, and satellite communication capabilities. The device also includes a triple rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary and ultra-wide camera, 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.
Alphafold is not Vertu’s first attempt to combine artificial intelligence with foldable devices. The company last year introduced Agent Qa clamshell-style foldable smartphone that focuses on AI-powered automation and productivity features.
However, Ma told TechCrunch that Alphafold represents a significant step forward from 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 globally despite years of investment by major manufacturers including Samsung and Huawei. As many as 20 million foldable smartphones were shipped worldwide in 2025, accounting for less than 2% of total smartphone shipments, according to IDC data shared with TechCrunch. The research firm said foldables sold for an average price of around $1,300 last year – about three times the price of non-folding smartphones.
Kiranjeet Kaur, deputy research director for mobile research at IDC, said foldables could ultimately benefit from AI-enabled workflows because their larger screens are better suited for multitasking and productivity-oriented experiences. However, he added that the adoption of enterprise AI in smartphones still lags behind that of PCs, and that most enterprise smartphone decisions continue to be driven by ecosystem integration and device management support rather than AI capabilities.
The first batch of 115 units of Vertu’s Alphafold starts shipping this week in major markets, including the US
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