Startup Embody is closing and its product, an $800 robot for children ages 5 to 10, will soon be bricked.
Embody blamed its closure on a failed “critical funding round.” On its website it explained:
We had found a lead investor who was willing to close the round. However, at the last minute they pulled out, leaving us with no viable options to continue our operations. Despite our efforts to secure alternative financing, we have been unable to find a replacement in time to continue operations.
The company did not provide further details about the withdrawn financing. Embody's previous backers include Intel Capital, Toyota AI Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund, Sony Innovation Fund, and Vulcan Capital, but we don't know who the lead investor mentioned above is.
When Moxie was first announced in April 2020, Embody described the robot as a “safe and engaging animated companion for children, designed to help promote social, emotional and cognitive development.” It advertised play built around “best practices in child development and early childhood education”; changing weekly themes, such as empathy, friendship and respect; and activities such as meditation, reading and drawing with the bot.
But soon none of these features will be available, rendering the expensive children's toy virtually useless. According to Embody, Moxie cannot perform core functionality with cloud connectivity. Even worse, owners apparently have an uncertain and limited amount of time until the appliances are bricked. Per embodied:
We don't know exactly when the services will stop. It is likely that this will happen within days. However, we are investigating options to keep Moxie operational for as long as possible, although we cannot give any guarantees.
Since Embody marketed Moxie as a companion and developmental toy for children, there have been concerns that children may suffer an emotional toll after the robot abruptly becomes unusable. Embody has responded by promising to provide a guide to telling children about Moxie's death. Online, however, customers are already sharing videos of their sad children learning that their robot friend won't play with them anymore, as Axios noted.
