The undercurrent beneath the throne of computing power: When chips become the "heart" of AI toys, who is swimming naked?

       In the tumultuous changes of China's AI industry, the center of power is undergoing a silent and thorough shift. Over the past two years, the spotlight has been on those eloquent large models, as if being "able to speak" was enough to rule the world. But looking back at the 2026 juncture, the true throne has changed hands. The power core of China's AI is shifting from "speaking models" to "silent but decisive computing power". Chips, this once hidden hardware component in server rooms, is now hanging high at the top of the industry, becoming the true ruler of the AI empire.

       In this grand structural shift, a long-misunderstood and underestimated field is being redefined with its value coordinates - AI toys.

I. Computing Power Shift: From "Cloud Gods" to "Hands-on Companions"

       In the public's perception, AI toys are merely the sidelines of the AI industry. They are regarded as a simple combination: connect a large model API, add a voice dialogue module, add a popular IP image, and finally put it in a plush or plastic shell. Essentially, they are still classified as toys or consumer electronics, being the product of the reductionist approach of AI technology.

       However, the arrival of the computing power era is shattering this shallow perception.

       An icy reality is: computing power is shifting from the all-powerful tower in the cloud to the edge side. As the parameters of large models continue to expand, as the cost of each call keeps rising, as data privacy and compliance requirements keep tightening like a tightrope, "AI applications that completely rely on the cloud" will all face the same life-and-death line. AI toys, as the terminal closest to users and with the highest interaction frequency, are the first to be affected.

       AI toys in the cloud model are like a phone that always needs a telephone line. Once the network is disconnected or the server is congested, it becomes an expensive mute. In the computing power era, AI toys must undergo a fundamental genetic mutation: from the fragile parasitic relationship of "cloud large model + toy shell" to the autonomous survival system of "edge computing power + lightweight model + emotional algorithm".

II. Three "Hard Constraints": Driving the Industry to Transform

       Computing power supremacy not only means the change of power, but also means the brutal cleaning of existing AI toy products. It brings three unavoidable "hard constraints".

       Firstly, the structural risk of cloud dependence. Pure cloud-based AI toys have inherent weaknesses in both business and technology. Delays are uncontrollable, causing conversations to be like a cross-border phone call that gets stuck; the high cost of each interaction makes low-priced toys turn into bottomless pits of loss; the compliance risks of data privacy make it tread on thin ice in the home scenario. More importantly, a toy aimed at providing "long-term companionship" if each conversation has to be transmitted to the cloud, it will never be able to establish true "local memory". This is like a couple who always communicate through letters, unable to form an immediate emotional resonance.

       Secondly, the excellent opportunity of edge computing power. From the perspective of chip manufacturers, they urgently need to find new outlets for the excess computing power. The autonomous driving cycle is long and the regulation is heavy; industrial robot customers are concentrated and expansion is slow; traditional consumer electronics are highly competitive and experience is homogeneous. And AI toys have unique and attractive advantages: high-frequency, low-defensive emotional interaction, strong private scenarios, and continuous data streams from long-term use. This makes AI toys no longer a "light application", but a highly valuable "emotional edge computing terminal". For chip manufacturers, this is the best testing ground to verify the efficiency of edge computing power.

       Finally, the ultimate judgment of cost structure. In the computing power era, the core of the competition for AI toys is no longer "who is more adorable" or "who is better at speaking", but "who can afford, can last, and can be stable". What truly determines life and death is the cost of unit companionship. In the next 2-3 years, we can boldly predict that a large number of AI toy projects that rely solely on cloud APIs to survive will be systematically eliminated due to financial chain breakdowns.

III. The metaphor behind the list: The "hardcore"ization of AI toys

       Looking back at "2025 Hurun China's 50 Strongest AI Enterprises", one trend is extremely clear: Capital is systematically fleeing the pure application layer and rushing into the underlying technologies and infrastructure. This is a deafening revelation for the AI toy industry.

       The truly valuable AI toy companies in the future will not be defined as "toy companies". They are more like lightweight AI terminal companies, emotion interaction data companies, or a key link in the end-side computing power ecosystem. In other words, the valuation logic of AI toys is undergoing a qualitative change: from the past focusing on "IP popularity and sales", it is now focusing on "computing power structure and technical path". Investors no longer care how many you sold, but how much your chip utilization rate is, and how high your end-side model compression rate is.

IV. Intersection: The alliance of chip hegemony and emotional economy

       When companies like Haomian and Huawei Ascend stand at the peak of computing power, what they truly desire is not just larger model customers, but new terminals, new data entry points, and new long-term interaction scenarios.

       And AI toys, precisely have an irreplaceable strategic advantage: They are the most easily accepted by emotions and the least defenseless AI entry point. Humans will be vigilant about mobile phones, give commands to smart speakers, but will open their hearts to the plush toys in their arms. This means a new possibility is emerging: AI toys may become the next "super entry point" after mobile phones - "emotional computing power entry-level products".

       If mobile phones are the "information entry point", handling work and information; then AI toys are closer to the "emotional entry point", handling loneliness, companionship and security.

       But to become this entry point, it must meet strict engineering realities. The AI toys that can become an entry point must have a technical route: end-side priority → cloud supplementation, not the other way around. Basic conversations, emotional feedback, local memory must be completed in milliseconds on the end-side; the cloud is only responsible for model updates, complex reasoning or background training. Once the core experience relies on the cloud, it is no longer an end-side entry point, but just a "connected toy", which may be replaced by mobile phones at any time.

V. Conclusion: The life and death line has been set

       The computing power era has drawn a clear dividing line for AI toys.

       What is likely to be eliminated in the future are those companies that heavily rely on the cloud, have no awareness of computing power costs, and only do "speaking shells". Those that have a chance to remain are those hardcore players who prioritize end-side computing power, have ultra-lightweight models, have evolved emotional interaction capabilities, and have controllable companionship costs.

       When chips stand at the peak of the AI industry's wave, the next companionship will belong to those "able to afford emotions" AI. The future companionship will not belong to the smartest, most talkative AI, but to the one that saves the least computing power, understands emotions best, and can exist for the long term. The dividing line of the computing power era has emerged, and when the tide recedes, the bare swimmers will have nowhere to hide.