Anthropic · Hong Kong · OpenAI · Amazon · China · Meta · Ars Technica
The new Wild West of AI kids’ toys
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The main antagonist of Toy Story 5, in theaters this summer, is a green, frog-shaped kids’ tablet named Lilypad, a genius new villain for the beloved Pixar franchise.
Key facts
- By October 2025, there were over 1,500 AI toy companies registered in China, and Huawei’s Smart HanHan plush toy sold 10,000 units in China in its first week
- In 2026, they’ve become a go-to trend in cheap trinkets, lining the halls of trade shows like CES, MWC, and Hong Kong’s Toys & Games Fair
- In January, WIRED reported that AI toy company Bondu had left 50,000 chat logs exposed via a web portal
- Following campaigning from PIRG and Fairplay, which published an advisory last year representing 78 organizations, AI toys are now making their way into US legislation
Summary
AI toys are seemingly everywhere, marketed online as friendly companions to children as young as three, and they’re still a largely unregulated category. By October 2025, there were over 1,500 AI toy companies registered in China, and Huawei’s Smart HanHan plush toy sold 10,000 units in China in its first week. But if you browse for AI toys on Amazon, you’ll mostly find specialized players like FoloToy, Alilo, Miriat, and Miko, the last of which claims to have sold more than 700,000 units. Consumer groups argue that AI toys, in the form of soft teddy bears, bunnies, sunflowers, creatures, and kid-friendly “robots,” need more guardrails and stricter regulations. Age-inappropriate content is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI toys.