Wanting to faucet into an enormous potential buyer base, business gamers are accelerating their push into the synthetic intelligence-driven toys market, hoping to unlock new progress as supportive insurance policies inject recent momentum into the sector.
Consultants and enterprise leaders famous that AI toys, created to supply emotional assist and companionship, are well-positioned to spark the subsequent wave of shopper traits by utilizing superior applied sciences to foster emotional connections with shoppers.
“Younger shoppers are more and more paying for emotional worth, and AI companionship is rising as a key early-use case,” mentioned Solar Zhaozhi, founder and CEO of Shanghai-based AI-driven toy startup Robopoet.
“That is attracting extra firms, together with main corporations, into the sector,” Solar mentioned.
In accordance with information from the Ministry of Trade and Data Expertise, China’s AI toy market was valued at 24.6 billion yuan ($3.49 billion) in 2024, and is predicted to be price 29 billion yuan this yr.
The expansion momentum is backed by an motion plan launched by the Ministry of Trade and Data Expertise, the Nationwide Growth and Reform Fee, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Tradition and Tourism, the Folks’s Financial institution of China and the State Administration for Market Regulation final month, the place collectible toys had been listed as a precedence assist consumption class for the primary time, making it one among 10 shopper segments focused to exceed the 100 billion yuan mark by 2027.
“The deep integration of AI with conventional toy manufacturing is reshaping product types and worth chains, making AI toys a brand new engine for high-quality industrial improvement,” mentioned He Yaqiong, head of the patron merchandise business division on the Ministry of Trade and Data Expertise.
Priced at 399 yuan, Robopoet’s flagship AI plush toy Fuzozo, which talks to and makes eye contact with customers, bought over 1,000 items within the first 10 minutes of the “618” procuring pageant presale and ranked No 1 in AI toy gross sales on each JD and Tmall throughout this yr’s Double 11 procuring pageant, Solar mentioned.
The senior govt added that the product has bought about 100,000 items thus far this yr and targets 1 million subsequent yr, aiming for 400-500 million yuan in gross merchandise worth.
As shopper demand grows extra various, extra firms are shifting their focus towards AI-powered pet companions.
“Not like typical robots designed to serve people, our product simulates a dwell pet that wants care. The method of caring gives customers a way of therapeutic, serving to them to deal with nervousness and loneliness,” mentioned He Jiabin, co-founder and CEO of AI robotic pet producer Ropet.
He added that AI-powered robotic pets higher swimsuit the life of younger individuals as we speak, as challenges similar to allergy symptoms, time constraints and a coaching course of should not current.
Supported by an emotional giant language mannequin and behavioral studying, Ropet can constantly adapt to customers’ habits and step by step develop distinctive traits, permitting it to work together extra like a personalised pet, the chief mentioned.
Following its home debut on JD in late October, the AI pet product shortly made its manner into the platform’s prime three rating within the robotic class by gross sales quantity in the course of the Double 11 procuring pageant.
“Our enterprise logic is simple: first create an interesting {hardware} product, then use excessive utilization charges to build up behavioral information, and at last leverage this information to ship true intelligence,” He mentioned.
As home momentum builds, Chinese language AI toys are additionally discovering sturdy traction overseas.
In 2024, China’s home toy retail market was price 97.85 billion yuan, up 25.5 % from 2020, whereas toy exports totaled $39.87 billion, rising 19.1 % from 2020, Ministry of Trade and Data Expertise mentioned.
“Customers in the USA and Europe have proven excessive acceptance of AI robots with visible understanding and personalised interplay. Many describe our merchandise as ‘little desktop creatures’, ‘AI pets’ or an ’emotional charging station’,” mentioned Yi Qi, advertising and marketing supervisor at Shenzhen-based AI {hardware} firm TangibleFuture.
The corporate’s LOOI Robotic, priced at round $150, differs from typical companion robots with its phone-dock kind issue. As soon as a smartphone is positioned on it, the machine prompts clever interplay and impediment detection capabilities.
Since mass manufacturing started in November 2024, greater than 10,000 items have been shipped, with 90 % bought abroad. The product even acquired a social media endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“Boasting the world’s most full toy business chain, sturdy manufacturing capabilities and a extremely expert labor pressure, China is now in a position to provide extra high-quality and well-priced toys to world shoppers,” mentioned He Yaqiong, from the Ministry of Trade and Data Expertise.
Leave a Reply