Insider Brief
- Tuya Smart made a strategic investment in Robopoet’s recently closed $14.8 million pre-A round, expanding its push into AI hardware and physical AI commercialization.
- The round also included existing Robopoet backers Sequoia China and GSR Ventures, while Tuya did not disclose the size of its own investment.
- Robopoet’s Fuzozo plush AI companion had reached nearly 300,000 cumulative domestic sales as of June 2026, with Tuya providing the underlying AI cloud platform for the product.
Tuya Smart said it has made a strategic investment in plush AI companion toy maker Robopoet’s recently closed USD $14.8 milion pre-A financing round.
The Hangzhou, China-based AI cloud platform company said the round also included existing Robopoet backers Sequoia China and GSR Ventures, along with two other new investors. Tuya did not disclose the size of its own investment.
What is Fuzozu?
Robopoet’s Fuzozo, a plush AI companion toy with blinking eyes and conversational features had reached cumulative domestic sales of nearly 300,000 units as of June 2026, according to the company.
The companies began working together in 2025, when Tuya provided the underlying global AI cloud platform for Fuzozo. Tuya said the investment is part of its effort to support AI hardware companies from product development through global commercialization with a focus is on products that bring AI into consumer devices, including toys, robots, smart home products and other connected hardware.
The company pointed to China’s 618 Shopping Festival as an early test of that approach. During the event, Fuzozo sold 40,000 units and ranked first in Tmall’s AI toy category, according to Tuya.
Other Tuya-supported AI toy products also posted sales during the shopping event. Tuya said Walulu sold 8,000 units, while AOOMII Smart AI Companion Robot, AI Scruffy Cat and Wozzi each sold about 5,000 units. Famue also appeared on JD.com’s Smart Robot Gold List, according to the company.
Tuya said its role varies by product. In some cases, it supports product development through its AI Development Platform. In others, it helps with market expansion, localized operations and channel access. The company said that model is designed to help AI hardware makers move from concept to mass production and then into overseas markets.
Tuya’s AI Toolkit
Tuya has also built an AI toolkit for hardware developers. Its technologies include a personal voice activity detection model, Physical AI Foundation V2.8, WukongAI 3.0, a real-time communication network, a physical action model and a long-term memory system called OmniMem V2.0.
The company said it will continue opening its AI cloud platform and overseas resources to AI hardware developers, including smaller teams and what it calls the “One Person Company” model.
Credit: Tuya Smart
