AI startups need testers and trainers. At this company, that work is X-rated.
Joi AI, an AI companion startup that markets itself as providing "AI-lationships that satisfy you emotionally, intellectually, and intimately," is hiring 10 "masturbation consultants." The position lasts for four weeks and requires participants who are 18 or older to write about their intimate experience trying the company's NSFW audio feature.
When Joi AI posted the job listing on social media, its Cyprus-based brand head, Julie Levin, expected some online reaction. She didn't expect thousands of applications and a flooded inbox.
Levin told Business Insider that the company received over 100,000 applications in the last couple of days.
"What are we supposed to do with 100,000 applications?" Levin asked. "I should probably call them 'winners,' because it's such a competition."
Yes, the position is real, the company said. Joi AI said it will administer the study along with the help of human resources, and is seeking applicants varying in age, gender, and sexuality. Participants will be asked to complete "daily audio-guided sessions" and write "short weekly reports."
Joi AI, which rebranded from Eva AI in 2025, operates on the web and with a coin-based pricing model. (An initial $13.99 a month will get you 1,000 coins.) Eva AI has raised an estimated $4 million since its 2023 founding, according to PitchBook.
While Levin declined to share the company's investors, revenue, or specific user numbers, she said that 70 employees were working on the product and that it had millions of monthly users.
Levin plans to ask the consultants about their well-being, as well as product questions like: Did something interrupt or inconvenience your process?
Sexy AI is in a transition state. Elon Musk's xAI remains the only major AI lab to jump into the market, releasing its lingerie-wearing AI companions and "spicy mode" feature that enables more adults-only interaction. OpenAI at one point said it would expand into allowing "erotica," though it reportedly backed off.
To apply for the Joi AI gig, applicants must fill out a basic questionnaire. One curious question: "What do you hope to learn about yourself?"
"We expect people to learn something about how masturbation affects their life in a good way or a bad way," Levin said. "We wanted them to reflect on that."
Joi AI posted a callout online asking people to post their application screenshots. Several users replied with their answers to that specific question.
"I want to be part of history," one commenter wrote. Another wrote that they hoped they could "earn from a hidden habit."
Levin's email was publicly shared, and interested candidates have been sending her their résumés directly. The majority of these applicants are men in their 20s and 30s, she said.
For now, she's enjoying the online reaction.
"I think it's the hottest job listing right now," Levin said. "You expected it to be somewhere like OpenAI or Google. It's not."
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