Artificial intelligence is not only changing the way toys interact but is also reshaping the entire manufacturing ecosystem.
Recently, during a press conference on toy safety held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the AI toy industry was unexpectedly accelerated.
OnNovember19, at the press conference, He Yaqiong, Director of the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, revealed that the market size of AI toys in China is expected to reach approximately 24.6 billion yuan in 2024, and is projected to increase to 29 billion yuan in 2025, aiming for 30 billion.
At this press conference, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially positioned “AI toys” as a new growth engine driving industrial upgrades. This statement marks the formal entry of smart toys into the national industrial policy vision. The authorities also announced stricter safety standards and are fully promoting transformation and upgrading.
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The Rise of the AI Toy Industry
The application of artificial intelligence and large models has injected soul into toy products, significantly enhancing the interactive experience of toys, and has become a new competitive track in the industry.
Director He Yaqiong pointed out at the press conference that AI toys are becoming a new engine for promoting high-quality development in the toy industry, with three significant characteristics in their industrial development.
The first characteristic is stronger product integration. Toys have evolved into important carriers of AI technology integration and innovative fusion.
Language large models, visual large models, etc., enable toy products to “understand,” “see,” and “think,” allowing interaction with humans.
At the same time, AI technology integrates national cultural IP, making toy products rich in technology and culture, significantly enhancing product added value.
The second characteristic is the redefinition of functional roles. Previously, toys mainly served as companions for children, primarily for entertainment.
With the integration of AI technology in toy products, the role of toys in people’s lives has evolved from a single entertainment function to a “smart companion” that integrates educational enlightenment, emotional companionship, and creativity stimulation.
The third characteristic is the full coverage of user groups. AI toys break the age limitations of traditional toy products, achieving full coverage across all age groups, greatly satisfying the diverse consumption needs of various age demographics.
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Policy Support
Recently, during a press conference on toy safety held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the AI toy industry was unexpectedly accelerated.
To achieve the healthy development of the AI toy industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is building a complete guarantee system of “top-level design + innovation promotion + safety net”.
In terms of directional guidance, He Yaqiong clearly stated that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments to formulate and release implementation plans to promote the matching of supply and demand for consumer goods, guiding toy companies to apply AI technology to create more new demands.
In terms of innovation promotion, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will encourage toy companies and AI technology companies to join forces, leveraging the advantages of market demand insights and new technology integration applications.
Integrating more excellent traditional culture into toys, creating more AI toy blockbusters, leading consumer trends.
In terms of safety supervision, addressing consumer concerns about AI toy data security, network security, and other issues, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments to strengthen research and judgment.
While guiding toy companies to strengthen technical protection, relevant standards will be researched and formulated in a timely manner to effectively ensure AI toy quality safety and data privacy security.
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Corporate Layout
Platform companies like JD.com are also actively laying out, providing technical support, lowering the threshold for AI technology access, and promoting industrial ecosystem collaboration. Recently, it has been found that governments in places like Beijing Yizhuang and Shenzhen Nanshan are also closely monitoring the development of the AI small hardware market.
From smart companions in children’s hands to memory assistants beside the elderly, AI toys are redefining the boundaries of “companionship” in various life scenarios. It is believed that this policy release not only upgrades safety thresholds but, more importantly, delineates the track for the emerging AI toy industry.
In the next two years, the market will see an increasing variety of AI toy products that meet the new standards. Toy companies will also welcome a critical window for production line upgrades and product iterations.
The era of AI toys has arrived, ready to unleash tremendous opportunities, allowing optimists to continue moving forward!
Every technological revolution reshapes the division of labor, ultimately reshaping the landscape.
About the Ankang AI Toy Joint Laboratory and Mengxiaoban:
The Ankang AI Toy Joint Laboratory: is an innovative R&D platform jointly established by Mengxiaoban Intelligent, leading local toy enterprises, and ecological enterprises from the China Electronics Technology Group, focusing on applying cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, emotional computing, multimodal interaction, and brain-like computing chips in areas like children’s growth, emotional companionship for young and middle-aged people, and elderly care, dedicated to creating safe, intelligent, memorable, and educational next-generation toy products and emotional companionship products.
Shanxi Mengxiaoban Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd: As the strategic partner and producer of the laboratory, it is a smart product developer focused on the emotional companionship track. The Mengxiaoban series focuses on: the research and marketization of smart toys and children’s growth products as an innovative brand, with the mission of “using technology to protect children’s hearts and illuminating growth through companionship,” dedicated to transforming the most cutting-edge laboratory results into products loved by children and parents worldwide. The Zhixiaoban series focuses on: the design and development of intelligent products for young women and elderly companionship.