Curio’s Grem Brings AI To Stuffed Animals

Several startups are introducing AI-powered stuffed animals designed to be companions for young kids. It’s the battle for next-gen playtime.

The Big Play: The techno plushies are being positioned as an alternative to screen time — a way for tots to be entertained while parents are busy. While the effects of too much screen time for kids is well-documented, trading Bluey and Peppa Pig for chatbot-led play could open an even bigger can of worms.

Behind The Plush: Curio’s “Grem” — which The NYT describes as “a fuzzy cube styled like an anime alien” designed by the musician Grimes — is the perfect example of the new AI stuffed animal.

• Grem has a Wi-Fi-enabled voice box powered by an LLM that can speak with kids as young as three, acting as their always-present “sidekick,” per co-founder Sam Eaton.
• The LLM is designed to bond with a child, inspire playtime, answer questions, and avoid harmful topics.
• Every conversation Grem has with a kid is transcribed and sent to their guardian, letting parents keep tabs — and even shape the exchange by feeding the AI prompts about what their kid likes or new rules to follow.
• Curio stresses that all conversations between children and chatbots are private, but its privacy policy admits that total security can’t be guaranteed (like all things AI).

The Future: Grem joins a lineup of other teddy bears, dragons, robots, and other toys with AI built in. While startups dominate the space, Mattel recently announced a partnership with OpenAI that could soon turn the most popular toys into plastic-and-plush chatbots… potentially ones that could even interact with each other.

We’re guessing everyone forgot the movie Small Soldiers.

Prediction: With parents already split on screen time, expect a new divide over AI plushies — which could even affect future play dates.