China’s AI toy market projected to hit $12b by 2030

Huawei, JD.com, and UBTech are among several Chinese tech companies expanding into the AI toy market, which is seeing rapid growth both domestically and globally.

China’s AI toy sector was valued at 24.6 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) in 2025, and is projected by AskCI Consulting to reach 85 billion yuan (US$12 billion) by 2030.

Huawei, based in Shenzhen, recently sold over 10,000 units of its AI-powered plush toy Smart Hanhan in the first week after launch.

The Smart Hanhan toy operates with movement recognition, voice, and touch, and integrates with Huawei’s devices running HarmonyOS 5.0 or later.

JD.com, a major Chinese ecommerce firm, released its own AI plush toy series, JoyInside, shortly before Huawei’s launch.

UBTech, a robotics company from Shenzhen, launched Meng UU, a small AI-enabled doll, and Wukong, a toy robot designed for educational and interactive use.

Investments in Chinese AI toy startups totaled 224 million yuan (US$31 million) in the first half of 2025.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

China child data and toy safety rules could slow AI toy growth

The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) requires consent and data minimization for personal information, including information about children. Violations can bring fines up to RMB 50 million or 5% of annual revenue 1.
All toys sold in China must meet GB 6675, China’s national toy safety standard. Regulators revised it in October 2025 2.
The 85 billion yuan 2030 outlook assumes compliance costs will not drain margins or slow updates. Firms must run data protection impact assessments, formal reviews of privacy risks, and may face security reviews for cross-border data transfers when sending data outside China 1.
Unclear plans for voice storage, parental consent tools and handling of children’s data could slow early sales and cap the outlook.

Edge AI helps toy makers cut cloud use and protect privacy

Under PIPL, AI toy makers need data minimization and strong security. This creates demand for on-device processing, also called edge AI, which reduces cloud dependence 1.
Chipmakers and speech-AI vendors sell low-power voice models with natural language processing stacks that let toy OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) such as Huawei and UBTech handle speech on the device while avoiding cross-border transfers plus security reviews 1.
Investors put 224 million yuan into AI toy startups in early 2025. Suppliers can ship Software Development Kits (SDKs) with parental controls and content filters aligned with China’s safety rules 2.
Privacy by design can meet legal needs and ease parent worries about data collection.