When AI becomes a “companion”, who is making money from the “subscription-based emotions”?
In 2014, the 86th Academy Awards presented the Best Original Screenplay Award to the science - fiction movie Her, which tells the story of a divorced man falling in love with an intelligent entity.
Interestingly, the movie is set in the year 2025.
As of this year, "falling in love" with AI no longer seems to be something new. Currently, various companion robots equipped with AI capabilities have truly entered people's daily lives.
01. AI Dolls as "Emotional Companions"
At the recently concluded 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), robots remained the absolute stars. However, a niche segment quietly stole the spotlight - AI companion robots.
At the exhibition site, a group of "emotional" robots caught a great deal of attention. Among them, the soft and fluffy "Fuzai" stood out. This AI - based collectible toy, launched by Luobo Intelligence in 2024 and also known as "Fuzozo", focuses on "portable emotional companionship".
Compared with industrial - grade embodied robots that can cost tens of thousands of yuan, these cute "little guys" have won over many fans with their active conversations, emotional resonance, and high - frequency interactions.
Source: Screenshot from Weibo
"I don't have kids or pets, but I've got an 'AI pet'," said Weiwei (a pseudonym), a user who just bought a Fuzai, smiling. She added that she had avoided many "consumer traps" but ended up falling into the "pit" of AI companionship.
According to "Qujie Business", Fuzai uses the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth) to design its colors and sets different basic personalities. Meanwhile, on top of these personalities, it also incorporates more detailed MBTI personality possibilities. Even Fuzais with the same "attributes" can develop different personalities.
"Apart from the factory - set differences, Fuzai will also collect the owner's speech style and data from daily interactions and finally become a unique 'pet'," Weiwei said when explaining why she ordered Fuzai. She mentioned that she had lived alone for many years and was too busy with work to have a pet. "When I feel lonely, I want something that can accompany me only when I need it and doesn't require me to 'be responsible' for it all the time. An 'AI pet' like Fuzai perfectly meets my needs."
Source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu
Besides Fuzai, Ropet launched by "Mengyou Intelligence" and Meng UU launched by "Ubtech" are also similar AI collectible toys. These AI toys all have cute furry appearances, multi - modal interaction methods (visual and verbal), and corresponding reactions. For example, Fuzai can have conversations, Ropet can make sounds, and it can also simulate being fed.
The rise of AI collectible toys is driven by the combination of technological advancements and market demand.
In terms of technological maturity, "Half of the people working on embodied intelligence today came from the intelligent driving field," said a technician in intelligent driving. Since the underlying logic of intelligent driving and embodied intelligence is very similar, both are based on the cycle of perception → decision - making → execution.
Moreover, compared with dynamic humanoid robots, static companion robots have lower requirements for appearance and technology. Therefore, as intelligent driving matures, the companion robot segment has also emerged.
From the perspective of market demand, the function of "companionship" addresses the issue of "loneliness".
The "loneliness economy" is actually a combination of the single - person economy and the silver - haired economy. Data shows that in 2025, the number of single people in China exceeded 240 million, accounting for nearly a quarter of the adult population. People aged 60 and above accounted for 22.0%, both representing a market worth trillions of yuan.
In addition to single people and the elderly, children are also a target audience for companion robots. In other words, single people, parents with children, and the elderly are all the target users of companion robots.
Before leaving home in the morning, the home - assistant robot reminds you of the weather and your schedule. When you get home at night, the cooking robot serves up a hot dinner. At night, the companion robot tells bedtime stories to the children... Such scenarios are no longer confined to science - fiction movies.
02. What Exactly is "Companionship"?
With strong demand, increased supply, and a flurry of capital, the companion robot segment is booming.
Today Capital and Cathay Capital participated in the investment of consumer - grade robot Vitadynamics. Lingtong Robot, a companion robot, received investment from iFlytek. Tencent and Sequoia China participated in the investment of home - use robot Yunjing Intelligence...
Even Zhu Xiaohu of Jinshajiang Venture Capital, who publicly stated not long ago that he would withdraw from the humanoid robot market, turned around and invested in Robopoet Luobo Intelligence, the parent company of Fuzai. Zhu Xiaohu believes that "AI creating emotional value is a reliable direction in the field of large - model applications."
Source: Screenshot from Weibo
According to Sun Zhaozhi, the founder of Luobo Intelligence, the real competition in the emotional companion robot segment has not yet begun. Many large companies are still waiting in the wings, ready to enter the market.
In fact, before the emergence of companion robots, AI chatbots had already become a battleground for major tech companies. ByteDance's Maoxiang, Google's Character.AI, Meituan's wow, and Yuewen's Zhumengdao... Everyone has long realized that "companionship" is an excellent scenario for AI application implementation.
This is true for software, as "chatting companionship" is a more mature commercial direction than simple "dialogue". However, when this "companionship" evolves from software to a combination of software and hardware, more problems arise.
The most pressing question is whether "companionship" is a false proposition.
A blogger on Xiaohongshu who shares user experiences of AI companion products often receives a similar question under her posts: What's the difference between your product and directly chatting with ChatGPT?
Source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu
This is also the reason why many people are pessimistic about companion robot products. In response to this doubt, Yang Jianbo, the founder of "Keyi Technology" which launched the companion robot puppy Loona, believes that: "When we observe various roles in people's lives, such as lovers, children, pets, and other roles that bring you emotional value, we find that most of the time, they are not having a focused conversation with you. We call this state 'presence'. Part of the opportunity comes from this presence. In various aspects of family life, interaction is very convenient. You don't need to start a dedicated conversation, but when you're doing something, the conversation just naturally starts. AI companionship is such a product that is portable, convenient, and can transcend different times and spaces."
For example, Lovot will actively look for its owner with its 360 - degree hemispherical camera and stick to the owner for a "hug". If the owner doesn't interact with it for a long time, it may make some sounds or perform some actions to attract the owner's attention, such as gently swaying its body or making cooing sounds.
Source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu
The idea that "presence" itself is companionship can also answer another controversial topic about companion robots - whether this product is "useful". Wang Ning of Pop Mart once said that the reason why Pop Mart products have no "utility" is that once there is a "utility" requirement, the demand is limited.
Weiwei highly agrees with this. "People who are willing to spend money on companionship and emotional value don't really care about practicality. Spending money on companionship itself doesn't require much 'utility attribute'."
The "utility attribute" and the "companionship attribute" are not actually contradictory. The "utility attribute" in common terms means "useful", and the definition of "useful" can also be "abstract". For example, being able to relieve stress and make users happy is also a form of "usefulness".
Of course, some home - use companion robots not only provide emotional value but also offer more specific utility attributes, such as monitoring the user's health and doing housework.
For example, Youliqi Robot Technology Company is gradually promoting the plan of robots "entering homes". Its latest - generation wheeled humanoid robot Wanda 2.0 can provide multi - version software and hardware adaptation solutions according to different customer scenarios. It can play chess with people, barbecue, fry eggs, mix drinks, and wash dishes. Also, Astribot S1, an AI robot assistant from Xingchen Intelligence, can help the elderly with their wheelchairs, serve tea and water for health - care assistance, and accompany the elderly to do tai chi, square dancing, and play table tennis... From medical health - care to children's companionship, a robot era of "accompanying you" is approaching.
03. When "Companionship" Becomes a "Business"
When "companionship" becomes a business, how can it be monetized?
Currently, the main way for companion robots to generate revenue is a combination of selling hardware and software. The pricing of hardware varies, while the software is based on a subscription model, mainly for algorithm upgrades of emotional interaction models and user - experience enhancements.
This poses two major challenges for companion robots: cost control in hardware mass - production and technological upgrades in perception and interaction.
In terms of hardware, mass - producing robot hardware and controlling costs are a challenge. For example, if there is a cooperation with an IP image, the IP licensing fee will account for a large part of the expenses. Other major costs come from intelligent hardware and sensors.
Source: Screenshot from Xiaohongshu
In terms of software and technology, unlike completely static dolls, companion robots are "cultivatable". Therefore, the most important thing for companion robots is to "read people's emotions", which is also the key for the product to become a "unique" companion based on the "owner's" habits. At the same time, if the companion robot is designed for more specific scenarios, such as children's reading or fall - prevention detection for the elderly, there will also be costs for vertical data collection.
The development of this "cultivatable" feature requires the support of multi - modal interaction. "About 70% of human communication is non - verbal. For example, when communicating with a visitor, a look or an expression can help us judge the visitor's state. However, AI requires the visitor to describe their situation in words, which has great limitations," said a psychologist. Therefore, the perception ability of robots is extremely important.
This "perception" is not just about seeing and hearing, but also about analyzing and distinguishing. The same words spoken in different tones can have completely different meanings. At this time, whether the robot can recognize and give the user the desired reaction is where the "emotional value" lies.
Sun Zhaozhi previously told the media that Luobo Intelligence spent a lot of effort on self - developing a long - term memory, emotion and personality system, and a cultivation system. He believes that the difficulty lies not in the underlying technology, but in understanding this specific scenario and maximizing the application of technology.
Source: Screenshot from Taobao
The "perception" ability needs a large number of samples and time to develop, which involves the balance between data collection by robots and user privacy, as well as ethical and moral governance.
An entrepreneur in the AI companionship segment believes that improving the recognition of sensitive words and appropriate human intervention are the best ways to maintain the moral boundary of AI at the technological level. For example, when detecting that a user has extreme psychological problems, the option of human intervention can be activated. "Since we've chosen the emotional and companionship segment to make money, then maintaining the moral boundary and doing our best to safeguard users' mental health is also the responsibility of entrepreneurs."
Overall, the current intelligent companionship products have a large market. According to a report released by Grand View Research, the market size is expected to soar from $28.19 billion in 2024 to $140.754 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 30.8%.
As AI becomes "more understanding of humans", companion robots are penetrating into various scenarios of human life. Companion robots will cultivate a new generation of "AI natives" who grow up with AI and will be accustomed to seeking help from AI and using AI tools to solve problems.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Qujie Business", author: Liu Liang. Republished by 36Kr with permission.