A Smarter Bot

Robotics pioneer Anki gave its new toy an AI mind of its own.

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Since its founding in 2010 by three Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute grads, Anki has been at the forefront of realizing our robot-in-the-home reality—through disarmingly adorable toys. The company’s two-year-old Cozmo ($180), a manic little bulldozer bot that drives around and plays simple games, was the best-selling toy, by revenue, on Amazon in the U.S., U.K., and France in 2017, according to analysis by One Click Retail, and helped Anki bring in nearly $100 million in revenue last year. This October, Anki is releasing the $250 Vector. The palm-size bot looks like Cozmo, but inside it’s entirely different. The company spent years imbuing Vector with a human-like ability to react and engage with both its environment and people. It’s designed for play—and a whole lot more. “We’ve always known that this is not a toy company,” says co-founder and CEO Bo