Premium smartphone brand Vertu on Thursday unveiled a foldable smartphone equipped with an AI agent that connects with enterprise software to adjust workflows. The company is targeting executives who manage business operations and communications while on the move.
The foldable smartphone, called Alphafold, starts at $6,880 for the calfskin version. Top models feature bespoke finishes and customized details such as alligator leather, 18K gold, and natural diamond accents. This continues Vertu’s long-standing strategy of positioning its phones as luxury status symbols for wealthy buyers. The company told TechCrunch that the top-of-the-line standard model currently costs $46,800, with further customization options available.
The announcement marks the latest attempt by Vertu, which has struggled to maintain its presence in the modern smartphone market, to reinvent itself for the AI era. The Hong Kong-based company, once known for its premium devices and concierge services popular with wealthy buyers even before the rise of the iPhone, has changed ownership multiple times over the years as mainstream smartphone makers have come to dominate the industry. Nevertheless, Vertu believes that Alphafold’s combination of premium hardware and enterprise-grade AI capabilities can help reinvent brands for the AI era.
Vertu’s Alphafold comes with Hermes Agent, built on the open source Herme project by Nous Research. Agents can connect to enterprise systems like ERP and CRM and coordinate tasks such as approvals, scheduling, sales tracking, travel planning, and operational reporting through natural language prompts. However, the company says that Phone-to-ERP and VPS deployments will be customized for each customer depending on their existing enterprise systems, and prices will vary accordingly.
Vertu said Alphafold can route requests across multiple AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and some open source models, as well as integrate with more than 80 apps and dozens of native phone features for cross-platform workflows.
Vertu CEO Molly Ma said existing AI capabilities in smartphones from major manufacturers are still primarily focused on consumer tools such as image editing and voice assistants. This leaves room for more advanced AI agent workflows tied to enterprise systems. She also pointed out that early AI agent smartphone experiments in China gained popularity before facing challenges around data privacy and cloud-based data collection.
Alphafold aims to address these concerns through its privacy-focused architecture, powered by its proprietary A5 security chip, Ma said. The company says the silicon is designed to isolate authentication keys, biometric credentials, and sensitive corporate information from the main operating system. It added that while commercially sensitive data can be processed locally on the device, prompts sent to an external AI model are edited or tokenized before leaving the phone.
Vertu emphasizes the device’s privacy and security architecture, including on-device processing and data editing capabilities, but the system has not yet undergone third-party security audits or independent certification, the company said. However, Vertu told TechCrunch that independent audits and certifications remain on its security roadmap “as a clear next step commitment,” adding that it will “publicly communicate progress and results” as the product matures further.
The Alphafold is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 processor, has an 8.05-inch foldable display, a 6.53-inch outer screen, a 6,500mAh battery, and satellite communication capabilities. The device also includes a triple rear camera setup with a 50-megapixel primary camera, an ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 5-megapixel telephoto lens. Vertu says the phone’s hinge uses metal, titanium and carbon fiber components and can withstand up to 650,000 bends.
Alphafold isn’t Vertu’s first attempt at combining AI with foldable devices. Last year, the company introduced Agent Q, a clamshell foldable smartphone focused on AI-driven automation and productivity features.
However, Ma told TechCrunch that Alphafold is a big 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.
Despite years of investment from major manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei, foldable smartphones remain a global niche. According to IDC data shared with TechCrunch, as many as 20 million foldable smartphones will be shipped worldwide in 2025, accounting for less than 2% of total smartphone shipments. The average price of a foldable smartphone last year was about $1,300, which is about three times the price of a non-foldable smartphone, according to the research firm.
Kiranjeet Kaur, associate research director for mobile phone research at IDC, said foldable devices could ultimately benefit from AI agent workflows because their larger displays are better suited for multitasking and productivity-oriented experiences. However, enterprise adoption of AI on smartphones continues to lag compared to computers, and most enterprise smartphone decisions continue to be driven by ecosystem integration and device management support rather than AI capabilities, she added.
The first batch of 115 units of Vertu’s Alphafold will start shipping this week in key markets including the US
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