The latest generation of connected toys is aiming to do more than entertain. It is designed to remember, adapt and develop relationships with the people who own it. A growing number of companies are betting that artificial intelligence can transform the humble toy into something closer to a companion – combining sensors, connectivity and generative AI to create devices that respond to users in increasingly personalised ways. Among them is Shenzhen-based AI company Takway AI, which has this week been promoting Sweekar, a pocket-sized AI companion that the company says can grow, remember and change through interaction. The concept draws on two of the defining toys of the 1990s: Furby and Tamagotchi. But while those products relied on programmed behaviours and fixed digital life cycles, a new generation of AI companions is attempting to create something more dynamic – devices whose behaviour evolves based on how they are used. Sweekar begins life as a physical egg before progressing through Baby, Teen and Adult stages. Takway says interactions such as talking, touching and caring for the device generate experience points, unlocking new behaviours and triggering physical changes through an integrated stepper motor. The company says the device uses voice recognition and long-term memory to retain information about its owner, allowing its personality to develop over time. “We didn’t set out to build a smarter gadget. We wanted a small life that’s always with you, something that remembers the little things, grows because of how you show up, and never feels like software pretending to care,” says Hongzhi (Irving) Gao, Founder & CEO of Takway AI. Sweekar is entering a market where manufacturers are exploring whether AI can create a new category of consumer technology: products that are not simply tools, but objects designed around ongoing interaction and emotional attachment. Japanese electronics