Ist die Kombination von KI und Trendspielwaren ein Super-Trend oder nur ein Konzeptblasenphänomen?

If you like "Toy Story", you have the chance to "become friends" with those with whom you can talk about everything, just like Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

Recently, Lesen Robotics announced a plan to release thousands of IP - AI trendy toys in the next three years. Currently, the company has obtained the licenses for characters from many classic IPs such as "WALL - E", "Toy Story", "Minions", "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Kung Fu Panda".

The toy industry is becoming increasingly popular due to the arrival of AI. According to incomplete statistics from TOP Jun, since 2025, there have been at least 10 financing events in the field of Chinese AI toys, with the maximum amount reaching 200 million Yuan.

According to the "White Paper on the Consumption Trends of AI Toys", the Chinese market for AI toys will reach a sales volume of over 1 billion Yuan by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of over 70%. The trendy toy market, which is already in a billion - dollar market segment, is being led to a new crossroads by this AI storm.

AI triggers a storm in the trendy toy field

When traditional trendy toys are combined with AI technologies such as speech recognition and speech processing, a new species emerges - AI trendy toys, which not only have the appealing appearance of trendy toys but also enable the functions of human - machine interaction and emotional companionship.

For users, the main target groups of AI trendy toys are children and young people between 18 and 35 years old. Naturally, there is also a certain market potential in the senior group. Among different manufacturers, some specialize in speech, visual or tactile interaction, while others offer multimodal interaction that includes speech, vision, touch and body language.

For example, LOVOT and Ropet are typical representatives of visual and tactile interaction. LOVOT is from Japan. Although this product cannot speak (in human language), it can react sensitively to human touches and hugs and make a "purring" sound during interaction depending on its emotional state. The minimum price of 29,800 Yuan determines LOVOT's positioning in the high - end market and its nature as a luxury item.

The well - known Ropet at the CES 2025 conference is an AI machine pet developed by Mengyou Intelligence. It can recognize human emotions based on their movements, speech and facial expressions and show corresponding reactions. Its body temperature of 37 degrees gives it something of the soul of a carbon - based life form. Its price is about 2,000 Yuan, which makes it a bit cheaper than LOVOT.

Products with multimodal interaction such as Fuzozo, Meng UU, BubblePal and Xiaopa AI are targeted at the mass market and all have the form of plush toys.

Fuzozo is an AI trendy toy in the breeding style specially created by Luobo Intelligence for Generation Z. It has the form of a cute hanging bag and comes in five colors that represent its perspective. You can feed it like a pet, and it also has a "touch - and - socialize" function. Meng UU has a similar positioning to Fuzozo. It is an AI pet developed by UBTECH that can chat and remember users' preferences. In the process of communication, it can develop its own perspective. The price of both products is 399 Yuan.

Picture/Internet, Fuzozo

Xiaopa AI and BubblePal are targeted at children's companionship. Xiaopa AI is the first intelligent derivative of the original IP "Teacher Pa" of TOYCITY. It has three core functions: emotional companionship, intelligent interaction and collectible value as a trendy toy. The price is about 800 Yuan. BubblePal is from Haivivi and has more than 30 interactive roles built - in. It supports role - playing games and multilingual conversations. The release price was 399 Yuan and was later raised to 499 Yuan.

Picture/Internet, BubblePal

From the development perspective, AI trendy toys can be divided into two categories. On the one hand, there are the original IPs that are directly realized as AI trendy toy products, such as LOVOT and Fuzozo. On the other hand, there are the AI versions based on existing IPs, such as Xiaopa AI, the AI children's companion Tom and the AI products of various film and TV IP characters.

"Popularity" is the current situation of AI trendy toys. According to the data from Tianyancha Professional Edition, as of September 2025, there are more than 13.477 million existing and functioning toy companies in China. Among them, only in 2025, about 2.635 million new relevant companies were registered.

In addition to technology companies and manufacturers competing for market share, capital providers have also flocked in. According to incomplete statistics from TOP Jun, since the beginning of 2025, there have been at least 10 financing events in the field of AI toys. Among them, Haivivi and X - ORIGIN - AI, which focus on the children's market, have received financings of 200 million Yuan and 100 million Yuan respectively. Luobo Intelligence, which targets the young female market, has completed an Angel round, and Mengyou Intelligence has completed an A1 round of several million Yuan.

Picture/Incomplete statistics from TOP Jun based on public data

Chinese Internet giants are also accelerating their expansion in this field. For example, Baidu Smart Cloud has built a dual - intelligent center - "left and right brain" - for AI toys based on large - model technology. JD.com has opened the "Obsessed Intelligence" platform Joyinside for AI manufacturers. ByteDance has internally developed an AI toy named "Eye - Catching Thing".

It can be said that 2025 is the year of the outbreak of AI trendy toys.

Real needs and false fulfillments: AI companionship should not be just superficial

Whether it is the high - end market or the mass market, AI trendy toys all target the keyword "companionship". According to the "Report on the Lifestyle of Young People" in 2025, 99.9% of the respondents said they were willing to consume for emotional values, of which 56% chose "emotional support" services.

These survey results are also confirmed in the sales figures. LOVOT has been brought to Shanghai across the sea and opened a flagship store there. The global total sales volume has exceeded 15,000 units. Fuzozo received more than 1,000 orders within 10 minutes after the start of the first pre - sale phase during the 618 special event. The total sales volume of BubblePal, which was released in July, has exceeded 250,000 units. FoloToy also said in an interview that the sales volume in the first quarter of 2025 was almost as high as that of the entire previous year (over 20,000 units).

The core function of AI trendy toys for the children's market is "learning companionship", while the use cases for the adult market are much more diverse. On social media, many people share their experiences with AI trendy toys. Some use them as companions during overtime work, others as travel companions and still others as emotional dustbins.

Picture/Internet, users sharing their travel with an AI trendy toy

Naturally, there is also criticism. The main complaints from users are the artificial tone in human - machine communication, the high cost and poor quality of paid services, product homogeneity and short battery life.

It is noteworthy that most current AI trendy toys use the "hardware purchase + subscription payment" model. This means that you have to keep spending money on your electronic companion. For example, the monthly service fee for LOVOT is 880 Yuan (you have to pay more than 700,000 Yuan at one time for the purchase of the device and the lifetime service fee). Meng UU is free in the first year, and the annual card costs 99 Yuan. Fuzozo can be used for free for 80 days, after which the subscription costs 10 Yuan per week, which is 520 Yuan per year.

TOP Jun also conducted a small survey among people aged 18 to 35 on the acceptance of AI trendy toys.

"The feelings conveyed by animals are real, but code is always just code. The reactions of AI are always programmed and false." Lianzhu, who lives alone in Shenzhen, has a pet cat. After the cat got sick last year and was sent back to her hometown, she lives alone again. When asked about AI pets, she said that code cannot replace real feelings and that she is not interested in AI products.

"It mainly depends on the price. The functions of current products are relatively weak, and the prices are too high." Xue Shan from Beijing said that he would buy a product if the price is reasonable and it meets his emotional needs, but he would not buy it if the price is too high.

"Current AI trendy toys are still a bit superficial. The conversations have too much of an artificial tone, and they cannot guarantee the promised companionship. If there were something like Jarvis in the future that really makes life easier, I would consider buying it." said San Feng.

Zhang Zaizou, who has always collected Pop Mart trendy toys, also said that he would not buy an AI model of Pop Mart because it has no real collectible value. It's like with new iPhone models. You change your phone when a new model comes out, but you don't collect the whole series.

A 6 - year - old mother named Ruo said that she currently does not consider buying an AI toy for her child. Even her Tmall Genie and Xiaomi Smart Speaker are rarely used. She wants to participate in her child's emotional companionship and growth herself.

It can be seen that there is a certain market demand for AI companionship, and the accelerated influx of capital has also made this market segment popular. But the current products, which are quickly copied based on AI large models, obviously cannot convince more consumers.

Conclusion:

AI trendy toys are a product of contemporary development. Whether they can become a super - trend remains to be seen. But what is certain is that the development of AI has influenced the trendy toy market, existing IPs and even advertising and marketing in many ways.

On the one hand, AI has given the trendy toy market a new form. From children's companionship to the emotional satisfaction of young people, AI has activated a new market demand. However, it is important to note that the core of AI trendy toys is the fulfillment of "emotional companionship". AI is just a means. The actual implementation of companionship, the improvement of service quality and the enhancement of user experience are the basis for a sustainable business. On the other hand, the lifespan of existing IPs can be extended. For example, well - known film and TV IPs and virtual IPs can gain a new lifespan through the combination of AI and trendy toys, which not only brings new joy to the target groups but also increases the value of the IPs.

From a broader perspective, AI + trendy toys can also become an innovative form of brand advertising. Brands can cooperate through this form...