AI toys are so popular! ByteDance, Tesla is squeezing in!

Wen| Liu Kuang

When it comes to ByteDance, we think of precise push in the torrent of information and national carnival in the era of Short Video; Tesla is a pioneer in the electric vehicle revolution and an explorer of autonomous driving technology. Every product release can arouse widespread heated discussions between the industry and consumers.

When these leaders in the technology world suddenly announced their entry into AI toys in a field that seemed to be far from their main business, they couldn’t help but wonder in their hearts: What drugs are the big technology companies selling? rdquo;

It is understood that Tesla’s newly launched robot toy Tesla Bot Action Figure, which sells for US$40, was sold out within 24 hours after it was launched. The current second-hand price has been sold to US$1300; ByteDance’s plush toy with a large model embedded in bean bags quickly broke through the circle and was once quoted as hundreds of yuan on the second-hand trading platform; Li Yong, a former partner of Tmall Elf, has achieved sales results“”“”……

This may seem to be a step that is not proper, but it is actually a bold idea and practice of future lifestyles by major technology companies. It also indicates that AI toys are rapidly becoming popular.

AI toys are so popular

During the Spring Festival, sales of AI toys surged sharply, showing a phenomenal explosion trend. The rise in some key data further confirmed this booming trend.

First, with the expansion of landing scenarios and the increase in consumer demand, the scale of the AI toy market continues to expand. Data from consulting firm IMARC Group shows that the AI toy market will reach US$18.1 billion in 2024. It is expected that by 2033, the global market size in this field will grow to US$60 billion, with the Asian market dominating.

Second, toys are ideal implementation scenarios for AI applications in the short term, and their future development space is highly favored by the capital market. In China, not only well-known companies such as ByteDance, Lesen Robot, Aofei Entertainment, and Tom Cat are deploying AI toy products, but many start-ups have also emerged and have received tens of millions of yuan in financing.

Third, more and more parents are incorporating AI enlightenment into preschool education budgets and using AI toys to cultivate their children’s interest in technology. The types of AI toys are increasingly abundant, from intelligent robots to AI voice interactive toys, from programming educational toys to virtual reality toys, covering multiple age groups and application scenarios.

In short, the significant increase in AI toy sales and the increase in market penetration during the Spring Festival fully confirm the vigorous development trend of the AI toy market.

Comprehensively refresh the definition of toys

AI toys are by no means as simple toys with smart tags. Behind them are the ambitions of major technology companies to deeply explore and apply artificial intelligence technology across borders.

First of all, the toy interaction method achieves dimension improvement. Technological breakthroughs such as deep learning, natural language processing, emotion analysis, and computer vision have made AI toys develop in a more intelligent, personalized and interactive direction, satisfying consumers ‘pursuit of novel technology products.

Take the ByteDance conspicuous bag as an example. It is embedded with FoloToy’s large model AI movement Magicbox. It can recognize and respond to human voice commands and conduct dialogue and interaction. It can also actively respond to complex problems and provide an intelligent interactive experience, which shows that large models, voice recognition and other technologies give toys life.

Secondly, the educational attributes of toys continue to increase. Through the application of AI technology, major technology companies have transformed toys from simple entertainment tools into intelligent partners with multiple functions such as education, companionship, and emotional support. This combination of emotional and educational values is precisely the deep exploration of artificial intelligence by major technology companies. An important manifestation of technology.

Compared with traditional toys and products such as smart slightly and point-reading machines, AI toys can adaptively adjust according to children’s learning progress and interests, providing emotional support and personalized education. For example, toy company FoloToy has launched interactive games and knowledge questions and answers to integrate learning into games, allowing children to master new knowledge through entertainment.

Moreover, toys promote the transformation of users from individual entertainment to group interaction, realizing the fission of social scenes.

Some AI pet toys for adults not only have emotional interaction capabilities, but also allow owners to exchange experiences with other pet owners and organize online or offline pet parties through Internet connections. This cross-border application not only expands the market boundaries of toys, but also opens up new business growth points for technology companies.

It can be seen that AI toys are a new attempt to integrate education and entertainment, a new bridge connecting family emotions, and a cutting-edge position in exploring the future form of human-computer interaction.

The ecological game between giants

ByteDance and Tesla’s entry into the AI toy track are by no means a simple cross-border attempt, but a game of niche.

For ByteDance, AI toys have huge potential in the fields of education and entertainment. By laying out the AI toy market, ByteDance can not only expand its business landscape in the consumer electronics field, but also further consolidate its leading position in content ecology.

For Tesla, entering the AI toy market is not only recognition of the huge growth potential in this field, but also an important manifestation of its technological innovation and diversified development strategy.

More importantly, compared with some entrepreneurs, technology giants such as ByteDance and Tesla have greater competitive advantages such as technology, ecology, and resources when entering the AI toy field. Relying on these advantages, they can quickly integrate technical resources, promote product innovation, and establish strong brand influence in the market, thus quickly occupying a leading position in the field of AI toys.

The competitive advantage of ByteDance lies in its strong content recommendation and AI technology, as well as its huge user base and channel resources.

ByteDance AI has profound technical heritage. It is not only used for content recommendation, but also covers many aspects such as natural language processing and speech recognition. The application of these technologies has significantly improved the user experience of AI toys. Its huge user base and strong channel resources will also quickly bring AI toys to the market.

Tesla’s competitive advantage lies in its strong accumulation of autonomous driving technology and robot technology, as well as strong brand influence and technological innovation capabilities.

Based on advanced AI technology, Tesla has launched highly intelligent and interactive AI toys. For example, the Tesla Bot decoration, which consists of more than 40 precision parts and has 20 joint points, is a mini version of the Optimus Gen 2. With Tesla’s global sales network and brand channels, this decoration quickly became popular around the world.

In the field of AI toys, ByteDance and Tesla each have advantages. Who will be better is still unknown.

Three fatal flaws behind fanaticism

There is no denying that the AI toy industry is on the eve of an outbreak. However, due to the eagerness of some manufacturers to bring semi-finished products to the market, consumers have a poor experience in using AI toys. The reputation of AI toys is seriously polarized. What is more serious is The three fatal flaws behind the AI toy craze.

First, there is a data security minefield. During the process of interacting with children, AI toys collect a large amount of voice and behavioral data, and most of this data is collected without authorization. Once obtained by criminals, it will seriously threaten the privacy and security of children. What is more serious is that this data may also be used for improper commercial purposes or even used by criminals to carry out fraud or other illegal activities.

The second is the crisis of overtechnology. AI toys excessively pursue technological advancement, but ignore the actual needs of users, resulting in functional redundancy, which not only increases the cost of toys, but may also weaken the user experience. The key is that the pricing of AI toys is generally high, far beyond the affordability of ordinary consumers.

Third, market disputes ferment. Although AI toys can provide emotional companionship, excessive reliance may weaken children’s interpersonal interaction skills. Some parents believe that the interactive and interesting nature of AI toys may cause children to indulge in them and affect their normal social and study life. rdquo;

AI toys should not be chips in capital games, but should become carriers of technology for good. When the industry learns to exercise restraint in fanaticism and stick to the bottom line in innovation, this industrial revolution on AI toys can truly reach its promised land. By then, industry pioneers such as ByteDance and Tesla will also gain great progress.