Grimes just launched an AI toy named 'Grok.' No, it's not related to Elon Musk's Grok.
Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
- Grimes just launched an AI toy that can kids can communicate with called "Grok."
- The toy looks like a stuffed rocketship.
- No, it has no affiliation with Elon Musk, x.AI's Grok chatbot, or Space X. Why would you ask that?
Grimes is partnering with a toy company called Curio to launch an interactive AI toy aimed at young kids. The toy is called "Grok" and is shaped like a plush rocketship. Kids can have conversations with Grok, asking it questions or engaging in imaginary play.
The toy has a speaker and microphone, and sends transcriptions of all the conversations that the child has with the toy to an app on the parent's phone for monitoring.
But lest you think that Grok, the toy is related to Grok, the large language model built by Elon Musk's new X.ai venture and integrated into X — no no.
From the Washington Post's report:
But the toy has no relationship with Musk's AI start-up, which also is called Grok. Curio holds the trademark on the name, and the two AI products are totally unaffiliated, Curio says. The name Grok was devised by Grimes and the Curio team, who said the word was a shortening of the word Grocket, which was coined because Grimes' children are exposed to a lot of rockets through their father's ownership of SpaceX.
In a video promoting the product, Grimes asks the toy, "Can you tell me how they make rocket ships?" Grok cheerfully answers: "Absolutely. Rocket are made with strong materials like titanium, and designed by highly trained rocket scientists."
Welcome to Curio, where toys come to life! ????
— Curio (@CurioBeta) December 14, 2023
We've partnered with @Grimezsz on our first 3 characters: Grok ????, Gabbo????, and Grem????.
Order by Sunday to receive a Beta Program Certificate in the mail before Xmas, toys ship early 2024!https://t.co/AQFtMIU7sG pic.twitter.com/vLVI3PTaMN
Grimes is providing the voice for the $99 toy, and is an advisor and investor in Curio.
Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, is currently in a custody battle with Musk over their three children, and the two are feuding over which state should be the jurisdiction for their custody arrangement.
Grok (and the other two plush toys, Gabbo and Grem) is not the only AI interactive robot toy out there. Moxie, an AI robot that costs $800 has a face that's a screen and camera to be able to recognize objects. The Miko Mini, similarly priced to Grok at $99, has a bunch more features: it can move with wheels and has a sensor and screen, too.