Realbotix, the company that had its origins in the RealDoll brand, and which has been promising us the imminent arrival of the world’s first sex robts, is to finally showcase its first android at next January’s CES in Las Vegas. But don’t get too excited – this robot is more likely to want to help your granny get in and out of the bath, rather than give you a blowjob. This is because Realbotix has recently been bought and rebranded, with their new owners (a crypto currency investment firm) deciding to shift away from sex robots, and instead pitch themselves as a major player in the race to bring social humanoid robots into general use. A recent Goldman Sachs report suggested that the market for such robots could be worth $38 billion by 2035.
Encouragingly though, Realbotix are still describing themselves online as leaders in producing ‘AI companion’ robots. And in China, it’s long been the case that the leading companies working on producing sex robots are at the same time among the leaders in the general field of commercial humanoid robots. This includes DSRobotics, which has a similar relation and history to premium sex doll company DSDoll, as Realbotix has with RealDoll.
The decision to re-brand themselves as a more general (and SFW) humanoid robot company seems a smart move, and could actually bring sex robots closer to reality. Wealthy investors are well-known to stay away with anything related to the adult entertainment and sex toy industries. In fact, earlier this year, shares in Realbotix became available to buy on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as well as the Frankfurst Stock Exchange. Furthermore, humanoid robots are already becoming a thing in factories and a limited number of other workplaces and environments. So unlike sex robots, a market already exists for general humanoid robots, and as noted above, it’s expected to become extremely lucrative over the next decade. Realbotix have led the way in working towards the goal of human-like robots that look and sound real enough, that a person could not only relate to them, but want to fuck them or even marry them. So they were already well-positioned to branch out into the perhaps easier task of building SFW social androids for environments including universities or hospitals.
A Brief History Of Abyss Creations, Simulacra Corporation, Realbotix, and RealDoll
Although Realbotix has new owners, and been rebranded, one thing remains encouragingly the same. Matt McMullen is still one of the top guys on board. Matt McMullen formed Abyss Creations way back in 1996, with the aim of entering the realistic sex doll industry, or rather creating it (at least in the USA). In 1997 he formed Simulacra Corporation, and Abyss Creations became a subsidiary of that. The sex dolls of Abyss Creations became the RealDoll brand, unmatched anywhere outside of Japan, and then China. In 2011, McMullen founded Realbotix, with the aim of bringing RealDolls to life – in other words, sex robots, also under the Simulacra Corporation. In April this year, Tokens.com, which is a technology investment company that had chiefly been involved in cryptocurrency, bought out the Simulacra Corporation for $16.7 million. Matt McMullen immediately became both President and a director of Tokens.com. The following month, Token.com rebranded as Realbotix, with their corporate website now realbotix.ai. Andrew Kiguel, who was the CEO of Tokens.com, is now the CEO of Realbotix.
Since 1997, Simulacra has been producing realistic silicone humanoid figures. In the last four years, Simulacra has generated revenues of $15.6 million (CAD$21.1 million) and Gross Profit of $12.1 million (CAD$16.3 million). The transaction is expected to be revenue accretive to Tokens.com shareholders. More information on Simulacra can be found on their website here and an investor deck can be found here.
Utilizing its intellectual property and design expertise, Simulacra is positioned to expand beyond its current sectors of entertainment and marketing into other markets that benefit from high quality, natural looking, humanoid robots, and personalized AI systems, such as healthcare (elderly care, mental health) and education. Through their customized AI and realistic robots, Simulacra is positioned to be a leader in the newly emerging AI companionship market.
“At Tokens.com, we have been at the forefront of Web3 and blockchain technologies over the last few years. Our move into AI and robotics is a natural extension of our scope. We are excited to enter this sector with industry leaders in the AI / robotics space,” said Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Tokens.com.
On the completion of the transaction, Matt McMullen, the founder and CEO of Simulacra, will join Tokens.com as President and as a director. Mr. McMullen and Shrike Holdings Inc., another Simulacra shareholder, will also become new Insiders (as defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”)) of the Company.
“We are on the cusp of a very exciting time, as humans and technology create new ways of interacting and connecting through AI and robotics,” said Mr. McMullen. “As we explore this new frontier, we are eager to share these opportunities in the public markets. This transaction with Tokens.com will greatly accelerate our strategic growth and market penetration.”
“While other tech companies are building robots to replace human workers in warehouses, Simulacra’s robotics serve the more immediate use case for AI and robotics: human connection, learning and play,” said Mr. Kiguel. “While most AI tools available today are filtered for content and viewpoints, Simulacra’s AI technology enables humans and robots to foster genuine connection through unfiltered, human-like conversation. We see our robots used in homes, hospitals, and even in the c-suite. We even intend on using AI to assist in board governance.”
Source for above quote : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240404204177/en/Tokens.com-to-Acquire-AI-and-Robotics-Business
