Startup will brick $800 emotional help robot for kids without refunds

Startup Embodied is closing down, and its product, an $800 robot for kids ages 5 to 10, will soon be bricked.

Embodied accengaged its clobrave on a flunked “critical funding round.” On its website, it elucidateed:

We had safed a direct dispenseor who was readyd to seal the round. However, at the last minute, they withdrew, leaving us with no viable chooseions to persist operations. Despite our best efforts to safe alternative funding, we were unable to discover a replacement in time to upgrasp operations.

The company didn’t provide further details about the pulled funding. Embodied’s previous backers have graspd Intel Capital, Toyota AI Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund, Sony Innovation Fund, and Vulcan Capital, but we don’t understand who the direct dispenseor refered above is.

When it first proclaimd Moxie in April 2020, Embodied portrayd the robot as a “safe and engaging energetic companion for children depicted to help back social, emotional, and cognitive enhugement.” It publicized perestablish built around “best trains in child enhugement and punctual childhood education”; changing weekly themes, appreciate compassion, frifinishship, and admire; and activities appreciate meditation, reading, and drathriveg with the bot.

But soon, none of those features will be engageable, making the pricey children’s toy virtupartner appreciateless. According to Embodied, Moxie can’t carry out core functionality without cboisterous connectivity. Worse, owners apparently have an unbrave and restrictcessitate amount of time until the devices are bricked. Per Embodied:

We don’t understand the exact date when services will finish. It is probable to happen wiskinny days. However, we are exploring chooseions to protect Moxie operational for as lengthy as possible, although we cannot provide any promises.

Since Embodied tageted Moxie as a companion and enhugement toy for children, there’s worry about kids potentipartner suffering an emotional toll after the robot abruptly becomes inoperable. Embodied has replyed by promising to provide a direct for telling children about Moxie’s demise. Online, however, customers are already sharing videos of their downcast kids lgeting that their robot frifinish will stop perestablishing with them, as Axios pointed out.