This week on the Konvoy Newsletter audio edition, host Jackson Vaughan explores how technology is transforming the $100+ billion kids’ toy market — shifting from dolls and building sets to AI-enabled companions, smart devices, and deeply interactive play.

From the late-90s Furby craze to Anki’s expressive robots, the industry’s history is filled with both groundbreaking successes and high-profile failures. Along the way, toys have sparked national security debates, triggered privacy lawsuits, and forced regulators to rethink how children’s data is protected.

Now, with advances in local AI, rapid prototyping, and direct-to-consumer sales, startups may be better positioned than ever to challenge toy giants — if they can balance delight with trust, privacy, and financial sustainability.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The pivotal tech-enabled toys that shaped the past 30 years — and the lessons they teach today

• Why privacy, trust, and transparency matter more than ever for AI-powered play

• The regulatory shifts reshaping the global toy market in 2025 and beyond

• How startups can leverage edge AI, cheaper prototyping, and supply chain efficiencies to compete

Whether you’re building in gaming, robotics, or consumer tech, this episode unpacks why the future of toys is about more than just fun — it’s about safer, smarter play in a connected world.

Love what you’re hearing?

Subscribe to the Konvoy Newsletter podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Want more insights like this every week?

Sign up for the Konvoy Newsletter to explore the future of gaming, tech, and venture capital.