At CES 2026, AI “life giving” stands for toys were shown

At CES 2026, two startups, HeyMates and Buddyo, presented devices that literally breathe life into ordinary figurines. Compact stands turn collectible toys into interactive companions with their own personality, voice, and knowledge base. This was reported in detail by The Verge.

How it works

Both companies use a similar principle. A small base with a built in speaker, microphone, and LEDs connects to a figurine. A mobile app loads an AI profile for the character, after which the toy can communicate, answer questions, hold conversations, joke, or even discuss scientific topics.

The approaches differ in important ways.

HeyMates creates its own line of figurines equipped with RFID chips. When a figure is placed on the stand, the chip automatically activates the corresponding AI profile. The first series includes characters focused on science, creativity, and entertainment. In the future, the company plans to license characters from movies and pop culture and to develop its own fictional universe.

Buddyo takes a different approach. Its Pod stand is universal and compatible with any existing collectible figurines. If a toy has a chip, the system reads the data from it. If there is no chip, the AI analyzes the toy’s appearance through a smartphone camera and independently generates a biography, personality, and voice for the character.

HeyMates uses its own operating environment called BuddyOS, while Buddyo combines ChatGPT and Gemini.

Prospects and plans

The CEO of HeyMates, Hai Ta, believes that the market for AI powered toys is only just beginning and has enormous potential. The launch of HeyMates products is planned through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in 2026.

Buddyo is focusing on compatibility with existing collections, which could become a decisive advantage for collectors who do not want to buy new figurines.

Both companies emphasize themed communication, ranging from scientific discussions to entertainment focused conversations. These are not just voice assistants but truly “animated” characters with personality.

In brief

At CES 2026, the startups HeyMates and Buddyo presented stands that turn ordinary figurines into AI companions. HeyMates produces its own toys with RFID chips, while Buddyo offers a universal base compatible with any collectible models. Both platforms use powerful language models and allow characters to communicate with individual personalities and voices. HeyMates plans to launch on Kickstarter in 2026. This represents a new step in the evolution of interactive toys, moving from simple figurines to “living” companions.