AI is coming for collectibles next

Amid the sea of glowing gadgets at this year's CES, figurines are getting a chatty upgrade. Two startups are betting that collectible toys powered by artificial intelligence will capture the next wave of desk-top companions, letting people have conversations with everyone from Albert Einstein to sci-fi film characters.

HeyMates plans to launch figurines with RFID chips that spring to life when placed on a smart base equipped with speakers and microphones. Their initial lineup includes Einstein discussing science, and controversially, a character named Chandler who channels "dry, sarcastic charm of a '90s sitcom character."

Meanwhile, Buddyo takes a different approach, creating AI pods designed to work with existing collectibles from Nintendo and others. The company's app can recognize characters through photos and generate personalities complete with matching voices and accents.

Both platforms focus on lighthearted conversation, though questions remain about whether there's genuine appetite for AI-powered collectibles in a market where even Funko recently warned investors about "substantial doubt" over its future operations.