But Chinese AI toy corporations have their sights set beyond the nation’s borders. BubblePal was launched within the US in December 2024 and is now also available in Canada and the UK. And FoloToy is now sold in greater than 10 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Germany, and Thailand. Rui Ma, a China tech analyst at AlphaWatch.AI, says that AI devices for kids make particular sense in China, where there may be already a well-established marketplace for kid-focused educational electronics—a market that doesn’t exist to the identical extent globally. FoloToy’s CEO, Kong Miaomiao, told the Chinese outlet Baijing Chuhai that outside China, his firm continues to be just “reaching early adopters who’re interested by AI.”
China’s AI toy boom builds on a long time of consumer electronics designed specifically for kids. As early because the Nineties, corporations equivalent to BBK popularized devices like electronic dictionaries and “study machines,” marketed to folks as educational aids. These toy-electronics hybrids read aloud, tell interactive stories, and simulate the role of a playmate.
The competition is heating up, nevertheless—US corporations have also began to develop and sell AI toys. The musician Grimes helped to create Grok, a luxurious toy that chats with kids and adapts to their personality. Toy giant Mattel is working with OpenAI to bring conversational AI to brands like Barbie and Hot Wheels, with the primary products expected to be announced later this yr.
Nonetheless, reviews from parents who’ve bought AI toys in China are mixed. Although many appreciate the very fact they’re screen-free and are available with strict parental controls, some parents say their AI capabilities may be glitchy, leading children to tire of them easily.
Penny Huang, based in Beijing, bought a BubblePal for her five-year-old daughter, who’s cared for mostly by grandparents. Huang hoped that the toy could make her less lonely and reduce her constant requests to play with adults’ smartphones. However the novelty wore off quickly.
“The responses are too long and wordy. My daughter quickly loses patience,” says Huang, “It [the role-play] doesn’t feel immersive—only a voice that sometimes sounds misplaced.”
