New reporting by China Daily reveals the rise of AI companion toys among adults in China, a trend emerging as more of the country’s citizens live alone than ever before. Nancy Liu, a 27-year-old interviewed by the publication, says she goes to bed each night cuddled up with an AI toy. From the egg-shelled Sweekar AI pocket pet to the fuzzy Fuzozo and the autonomously roving TCL AiMe, AI toys are taking China by storm. China Daily reported that transaction volumes for AI toys on the e-commerce giant Taobao jumped by over 1,600 percent in 2025. For all their commercial success, the AI companion toys seem to stand in conflict with recent regulations eyed by lawmakers in Beijing.