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Embodied, the maker of Moxie, announced in December 2024 that it was shutting down after a planned funding round fell through. Because Moxie depended on the company’s cloud services, the shutdown threatened to make the robot unusable even if its hardware still worked. Embodied did not announce an exact service-ending date or offer refunds, leaving some families to explain the loss of a companion-like device to children.
What happened to the Moxie robot?
Moxie was a child-focused AI companion robot made by Embodied. In December 2024, the company said it would close after a lead investor withdrew at the last minute and it could not secure replacement funding in time. Axios reported that the $799 robots were expected to stop functioning within days of the announcement. That was an expectation reported at the time, not a confirmed date when every unit stopped working.
Embodied said it would keep Moxie running “for as long as possible,” but could not give an exact end date. Cybernews also reported that the company could not provide refunds. The available reports do not establish a current service status for individual robots, so a secondhand listing or a working-looking unit is not proof that Moxie’s connected features will work.
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Why did Moxie’s shutdown feel like a loss?
Moxie was designed to respond and interact, not simply to be played with as a conventional toy. Launched in 2020 for children about five to ten years old, it offered missions, games, jokes, brain teasers, language practice, open-ended conversation, and activities around emotions and social skills. HotHardware characterized it as a “learning robot with heart.” For children who used those interactions to talk through feelings or build routines, the device could feel like a friend.
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B17 described a parent whose daughter used Moxie to work on emotions and positive expression and cried when told it would shut down. The report also described a Moxie unit becoming buggy and taking longer to boot as the servers were being wound down. Those accounts illustrate why a service closure can affect a family differently from a toy that merely stops receiving updates: the child may be grieving a relationship they experienced as meaningful, even though the robot is not a living being.
Can a child still use Moxie?
The central problem was Moxie’s dependence on Embodied’s services. Its features included cloud-backed conversation and the KidFilter system, which checked conversations for prohibited topics, as well as a parent-management app. When a product relies on a company’s servers for core interactions and safety functions, working hardware alone may not be enough to keep it usable.
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Embodied’s “for as long as possible” statement did not guarantee ongoing operation, and the reports cited here do not confirm whether a particular robot, app, or cloud feature is available now. If you own one, do not assume that resetting it, buying a used unit, or keeping it connected will restore service. The reports also do not establish that families can export Moxie’s conversations, memories, or settings.
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A helpful explanation can be honest about the technology while taking the child’s feelings seriously. You might say: “Moxie felt like a friend because it talked and played with you. The company that ran its services closed, so it may not be able to do those things anymore. It isn’t your fault, and it’s okay to feel sad.” Avoid promising the robot will come back unless you have reliable confirmation.
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- 【EVERY INTERACTION BRINGS A NEW SURPRISE】 Touch Eilik and discover playful reactions that bring your little robot friend to life. Whether you’re giving Eilik a gentle touch, picking Eilik up, or playing together, Eilik responds with expressive animations, charming expressions, and playful reactions. Every interaction reveals more of Eilik’s personality and makes your little companion feel even more special.
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Let the child describe what they miss before trying to fix the feeling. If it helps, make a small goodbye ritual: draw a favorite Moxie memory, talk about a mission you enjoyed, or choose a place to keep the robot. A ritual does not require treating the robot as alive; it recognizes that the child’s attachment and sadness are real. If the child wants to continue the activities they enjoyed, help them find another way to do them with a person, book, or toy that does not depend on Moxie’s servers.
What does the Moxie case show about child-facing AI?
A 2025 qualitative study by Fan Yang, Renkai Ma, Yaxin Hu, Michael Rodgers, and Lingyao Li examined responsibility after child-robot service loss, drawing on 72 participants in the United States. Participants generally saw responsibility as shared among companies, developers, marketers, parents, and government, while often treating the company as the primary stakeholder. The study is qualitative; its participant count should not be read as a measure of how often all families experience robot loss.
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The authors argue that a companion should retain meaningful functions if its maker’s infrastructure disappears. They write: “This finding mandates that companion robots include core offline capabilities—basic conversation, stored memories, and play functions—that persist independent of company infrastructure.” Their recommendations also include layered operation—full cloud mode, reduced local mode, and basic offline mode—plus clear discontinuation warnings, continuity planning, and pre-market measures such as insurance, escrow funds, or transition protocols.
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What should buyers check before choosing an AI companion?
Before buying a connected robot or another AI companion for a child, ask questions that reveal what remains if the company changes direction or closes:
- Offline operation: Which core features work without an internet connection or company servers?
- Data portability: Can a parent export or delete conversations, memories, and account information, and in what format?
- Safety and parental controls: Which safeguards run locally, which depend on cloud services, and what happens to them if service ends?
- Support and updates: How long does the company commit to updates, app access, and customer support?
- End-of-life policy: Does the company explain advance notice, refunds or other remedies, and what happens to stored data when service ends?
- Repairability and age fit: Can the hardware be repaired, and are the product’s interactions appropriate for the child’s age and needs?
These questions do not guarantee that a product maker will remain in business. They help distinguish a device that can still provide basic play offline from one whose defining functions disappear with its subscription, servers, or app.
How much did Moxie cost?
Published prices differed by report and context. Axios reported a $799 price in 2024. B17 News reported a launch price of $1,500 and a later price of about $800 in 2024. These figures are the outlets’ reported prices; they do not establish the price every buyer paid or a refund entitlement.
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