From plush figures to digital pets, a new class of AI toys is emerging — built not around screens or sensors, but around memory, language and emotional awareness
Updated
March 17, 2026 1:02 AM
Spielwarenmesse toy fair. PHOTO: SPIELWARENMESSE
Spielwarenmesse in Nuremberg is the global meeting point for the toy industry, where brands and designers preview what will shape how children play and learn next. At this year’s fair, one message stood out clearly: toys are no longer built just to entertain, but to listen, respond and grow with children. Tuya Smart, a global AI cloud platform company, used the event to show how AI-powered toys are turning familiar formats into interactive companions that can talk, react emotionally and adapt over time.
The company’s central argument was simple but far-reaching. The next generation of artificial intelligence toys will not be defined by motors, sensors or screens alone, but by how well they understand human behavior. Instead of being single-function objects, smart toys for children are becoming systems that combine language models, emotion recognition and memory to support ongoing interaction.
One of the most talked-about examples was Tuya Smart’s Nebula Plush AI Toy. At first glance, it looks like a soft, expressive plush figure. Inside, it uses emotional recognition to change its LED facial expressions in real time. If a child sounds sad or excited, the toy’s eyes respond visually. It supports natural conversation, reacts to hugs and touch and combines storytelling, news-style updates and interactive games. Over time, it builds memory, allowing it to behave less like a gadget and more like an interactive AI toy that recalls past interactions.
Another example was Walulu, also developed using Tuya’s AI toy platform. Walulu is an AI pet built around personalization. It can detect up to 19 emotional states and speak more than 60 languages. It connects to major large language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Qwen and Doubao. Through simple app-based controls, users choose traits like cheerful, quiet, curious or thoughtful. Those choices shape how Walulu talks and reacts. Instead of repeating scripts, it adjusts its tone and behavior over time. The result is not a novelty item, but an emotionally responsive AI toy that feels consistent in daily use.
Tuya also showed how educational AI toys can extend into learning and exploration. Its AI Learning Camera blends computer vision with interactive content. When it recognizes an object, it links it to cultural and learning material. If a child points it at a foreign word, it offers real-time pronunciation and translation. It can also turn drawings into digital artwork, encouraging active creativity rather than passive screen time. In this sense, AI toys for kids are becoming tools for learning as much as play.
These products point to a larger strategy. Tuya is not just making toys — it is building the AI toy development platform behind them. Through its AI Toy Solution, developers can design a toy’s personality, memory logic and behavior without training models from scratch. The system integrates with leading AI models and supports multi-turn conversation and emotional feedback, turning standard hardware into responsive AI companions.
The platform supports multiple development paths. Brands can use ready-to-market OEM solutions, add AI to existing products or build custom toys around their own characters. Plush toys, robots, educational tools and wearables can all become AI-powered toys without changing their physical design.
Because these products are made for children and families, safety is built in. Tuya’s system includes parental controls, conversation history review and content management. It supports standards such as GDPR and CCPA with encryption and data localization.
From a business standpoint, Tuya’s pitch is speed and scale. The company says its AI toy infrastructure can cut development time by more than half and reduce R&D costs by up to 50 percent. Its AIoT network spans over 200 countries and supports more than 60 languages, making global deployment of AI toys easier.
What emerged at Spielwarenmesse 2026 was not just a lineup of smart gadgets, but a clear shift in the category. AI toys are evolving into emotionally aware systems that talk, listen, remember and adapt. Their value lies not in sounding clever, but in fitting naturally into everyday life.
The fair did not present AI toys as a distant future. It showed them as products already entering the mainstream. The real question now is not whether toys will use AI, but how carefully that intelligence is designed for children.
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Sonilo and Shutterstock are betting that licensed training data could define the future of AI music.
Updated
May 13, 2026 3:39 PM
A human operating a digital turntable. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
As copyright disputes continue to grow around AI-generated music, Sonilo, the world’s first professionally licensed video-to-music AI platform, has partnered with Shutterstock to train its models on licensed music catalogs.
The agreement gives Sonilo access to Shutterstock’s music library for AI model training. According to the companies, it is Shutterstock’s first partnership with a video-to-music AI platform and the timing is significant. AI music companies are facing growing pressure over how their systems are trained. Artists and record labels have increasingly challenged the use of copyrighted music in AI datasets, especially when licensing agreements or compensation structures are unclear.
That tension has created a divide across the industry. Some companies have continued building models around scraped or disputed data. Others are trying to position licensing as part of the product itself.
Sonilo falls into the second group. The company says its models are trained only on licensed material where artists and rights holders have agreed to participate and receive compensation. The Shutterstock partnership strengthens that position while giving Sonilo access to a larger pool of commercially cleared music.
The collaboration also points to a broader change happening inside generative AI. As AI tools move into commercial production, companies are being pushed to show not just what their models can generate, but also where their training data comes from.
Sonilo’s platform is built around video rather than text prompts. The system analyses footage directly, studies pacing and emotional tone, then generates an original soundtrack to match the content. The company says this removes the need for manual music searches, syncing or editing workflows. The generated tracks are cleared for commercial use across social media, branded content and broadcast production.
Shawn Song, CEO of Sonilo, said: "Music has always been the last unsolved layer of video creation, and video has always carried its own soundtrack. We built Sonilo to hear it and compose from it, without a single text prompt. But how we build matters as much as what we build. While others have chosen to take artists' work without permission and charge creators for the privilege, we've chosen a different path—one where artists are compensated from day one. Partnering with Shutterstock reflects that standard. Every model we train meets a bar the music industry can stand behind, because the most innovative AI platforms don't have to come at the expense of the artists who make all of these possible."
For Shutterstock, the deal expands the company’s growing role in generative AI infrastructure. The company has increasingly focused on licensing content for AI systems across images, video and music.
Jessica April, Vice President of Data Licensing & AI Services at Shutterstock, said: "AI innovation depends on access to high-quality, rights-cleared content and trusted licensing partnerships. Sonilo's approach reflects the growing demand for responsibly sourced training data and commercially safe AI workflows. We're pleased to support companies building generative AI products with licensed content and scalable data solutions that help accelerate innovation while respecting creators and rights holders."
The partnership also comes as Sonilo expands into creator and developer ecosystems. Earlier this month, the company launched as a native node inside ComfyUI, an open-source AI workflow platform used by millions of creators. Sonilo also offers API access for integration into creator tools, video platforms, game engines and other AI systems.
As AI-generated music becomes more common across advertising, creator platforms and digital media, the industry’s focus is shifting beyond generation alone. Questions around licensing, ownership and compensation are increasingly shaping how AI music companies position themselves and build trust with creators.