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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As global tech ecosystems become more interconnected, the ability to move innovation across borders is becoming just as important as building it. A new partnership between MTR Lab, the investment arm of MTR Corporation and ZGC Science City Ltd, a government-backed technology ecosystem based in Beijing’s Haidian district, reflects this shift.
At its core, the collaboration is designed to connect high-potential Chinese startups with global capital, real-world deployment opportunities and international markets. It focuses on sectors like AI, robotics, smart mobility and sustainable urban development—areas where China already has strong technical depth but where scaling beyond domestic markets can be more complex.
This is where the partnership begins to matter. ZGC Science City sits at the center of one of China’s most concentrated innovation clusters, with thousands of AI companies and a growing base of specialised and high-growth firms. MTR Lab, on the other hand, brings access to international markets, industry networks and practical deployment environments tied to infrastructure, transport and urban systems. Together, they are attempting to bridge a familiar gap: turning local innovation into globally relevant products.
In practice, the model is straightforward. ZGC Science City will introduce MTR Lab to startups working in priority sectors, creating a pipeline for potential investment and collaboration. From there, MTR Lab can support these companies through funding, pilot projects and access to overseas markets. The idea is not just to invest, but to help startups test and apply their technologies in real-world settings, particularly in complex urban environments.
The timing is notable. China’s AI and deep tech ecosystem has expanded rapidly, with thousands of companies contributing to advancements in automation, smart infrastructure and sustainability. At the same time, global demand for these technologies is rising, especially as cities look for more efficient and scalable solutions. Yet, moving from innovation to adoption often requires cross-border coordination—something individual startups may struggle to navigate alone.
This partnership also builds on a broader pattern. Corporate venture arms like MTR Lab are increasingly positioning themselves not just as investors, but as connectors between markets. By combining capital with access to infrastructure and deployment scenarios, they offer startups a way to move faster from development to real-world use. For ZGC Science City, the collaboration adds an international layer to its ecosystem, helping local companies extend beyond domestic growth.
What emerges is a model that goes beyond a typical investment announcement. It reflects a growing recognition that innovation today is rarely confined to one geography. Technologies may be developed in one ecosystem, refined in another and scaled globally through partnerships like this.
As cross-border collaboration becomes more central to how startups grow, partnerships like the one between MTR Lab and ZGC Science City point to a more connected innovation landscape—one where access, not just invention, defines success.