The startup will brick $800 emotional support robot for children without refund

Startup Embodied is shutting down, and its product, an $800 robot for kids ages 5 to 10, is about to break even.

Embodied blamed its closing on a failed “critical round of funding.” In this websiteit means:

We got a lead investor ready to close the round. However, at the last minute, they withdrew, leaving us with no viable option to continue operations. Despite our best efforts to secure alternative funding, we were unable to find a replacement in time to resume operations.

The company did not provide further details about the withdrawn funds. Embodied’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, Embodied described the robot as a “safe and engaging living companion for children designed to help promote social, emotional, and cognitive development. ” It advertises the game as being 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 the parts work, making the expensive children’s toy almost useless. According to Embodied, Moxie cannot perform core functionality without a cloud connection. To make matters worse, owners apparently have an uncertain and limited time until the devices are broken. Each Embodied:

We do not know the exact date when the services will stop. This will likely happen within days. However, we are exploring options to keep Moxie operating as long as possible, although we cannot make any guarantees.

Because Embodied markets Moxie as a companion and developmental toy for children, there is concern about children who may suffer an emotional trauma after the robot suddenly becomes unusable. Embodied responded by promising to provide a guide for telling the children about Moxie’s death. Onlinehowever, customers are already sharing videos of their sad children knowing their robot friend will stop playing with them, as Axios taught.