Aurora Charges $10,000 a Year for an AI Concierge the Rich Can't Simply Buy

Aurora charges members a $10,000 annual fee plus a $5,000 initiation fee for an invite-only app that uses AI and human experts to manage the ultrawealthy's everyday lives — and it built a rejection email before an acceptance email.

Cofounder and CEO Jonah Lowenstein told Fortune the company wrote the rejection first deliberately. Aurora isn't invite-only to be "bureaucratic and slow people down," he said. It's "a promise to our members and to our partners that we're going to curate right from end to end."

The company bills itself as a "luxury lifestyle manager." Members connect their calendars and wearable tech, including Whoop and Oura devices, and Aurora uses that data to anticipate needs before members ask.

The model goes beyond big moments like villas and once-in-a-lifetime trips. It targets life's small moments: dining, travel, luxury goods, wellness services and more.

What does the wearable data actually do?

If a member's wellness data shows they're jet-lagged after a flight, Aurora might suggest — and, if the member wants, book — a sauna and recovery session, an IV drip to their room, or a physical therapist for a sports massage, Lowenstein said. It can even use Whoop data to target specific muscle groups "that you don't even have to tell your masseuse about because Aurora already knew."

Aurora positions this at the intersection of two trends: AI-driven personalization and wellness as a status amenity. Luxury apartment buildings already offer IV hydration and Botox in an "amenities arms race," and ultrawealthy residents now expect hotel-level services at home.

The technology, however, arrived late. For its first six months, Aurora ran on essentially no technology. Lowenstein and his cofounders answered member requests by hand, with an alarm that went off whenever a member messaged.

How does AI meet the human touch?

New members start with an onboarding call so the team learns their preferences, lifestyle, and details as small as their partner's favorite flowers. The blend is the point, Lowenstein said: "You have the speed and the memory and the accuracy of technology, but then you've got the taste and the relationships and the expertise of humans."

Those relationships get members into hard-to-book places. Aurora's long-standing ties to restaurant owners and hospitality groups worldwide mean partners trust that Aurora's vetted members show up and behave well, Lowenstein said. The app can lock in Wimbledon debenture seats well in advance. It has also fielded a request from a member overseas for a type of rye bread found in New York delis — at 2 a.m. U.S. time.

Who is behind Aurora, and how is it funded?

Lowenstein grew up in London, did acting and voiceover work as a child, and built an immersive events company for students in college. A chance meeting in a London café connected him with Alex Macdonald, the cofounder of digital concierge Velocity Black, which Capital One acquired in 2023 and who is now Aurora's chairman. Lowenstein spent 30 days straight in Macdonald's office asking "day and night" about what they'd built — and walked away with a $500,000 check.

His framing of the mission is blunt: "Surviving is not living," he said. "Living is living."

What traction does Aurora have?

Aurora has signed up several hundred members in its first eight months, Lowenstein said. More than half use the app daily, and more than 85% use it weekly. The goal, he said, is for Aurora to be "just as relevant on a Tuesday" as on an extraordinary day.

The company also hosts members-only events, ranging from Navy SEAL breathwork in Miami to private car racing in New York, with more planned in Singapore and Dubai. A poker night drew Kevin Hart, who called it "one of those great New York nights you don't forget and want to recreate time and time again."

"Their team curated an event that stood out as something memorable and special," Hart told Fortune. "And it was clear that everyone in the room felt the same way."

Lowenstein said Aurora has raised about $12 million from VCs, family offices, and angel investors, and it is preparing to raise a Series A "very shortly." Next up, he told Fortune exclusively, are collaborative features that let members plan alongside spouses, siblings, executive assistants, children, and close friends.

"I think that's also where the future of this goes," Lowenstein said. "Who are the people you love being around? Who are the people who you think have awesome taste?"