Pophie Hits Kickstarter: Introducing a New AI Lifeform That Sees, Hears, and Grows Alongside You

SINGAPORE, May 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For years, artificial intelligence has lived behind screens, inside speakers, and inside apps—powerful, but distant. It waits for us to begin. Today at 11:00 AM EDT, InsBotics officially launched Pophie on Kickstarter to change that. Pophie is a new kind of AI companion: a true AI lifeform designed to live in the real world, understand context, express genuine emotion, and proactively connect with people without always waiting for a command or a wake word.

Pophie is not another smart speaker with a face, nor a chatbot inside a plastic shell. She is a magical little cutie designed to bring a sense of life, warmth, and shared daily experience into the home.

The Kickstarter Campaign is live here: Pophie Kickstarter Link
Early Bird Shipping: Expected to begin in July 2026.

The End of Passive AI

"Most AI today can answer you. Pophie can notice you," said Tang Qi, Founder of InsBotics. "She can turn toward you, react to your touch, remember what matters, sense what is happening in the room, and choose the right moment to connect. We didn't build Pophie to be another device. We built her to feel like something new and meaningful has entered your life."

Instead of asking users to adapt to technology, Pophie is built to adapt to people. While the industry focuses heavily on productivity, Pophie is built for companionship, emotion, and shared moments —whether becoming a playful friend for children, a warm presence for people living alone, or a creative partner on a desk.

How She Brings "Presence" to Life

Pophie doesn't simply process input; she shares your space. Her intelligence is driven by multiple systems working together to create a natural, fluid relationship:

Semantic Vision & Natural Gestures: Her camera doesn't just capture images; it helps her understand what is happening around her. Hold up an object, and Pophie can recognize it and talk about it. Wave to her, and she will react with her own movement, turning interaction into a physical, shared experience.

Spatial Audition & Deep Focus: Her microphones allow her to know exactly who is speaking in a crowded room so she can look toward them. Because she knows who is talking, her attention is specific to you and your unique history with her.

An Emotional Soul (VAD System): Pophie's feelings aren't canned animations. Using continuous emotional modeling (Valence, Arousal, Dominance), her eye expressions, voice tone, and 5-DOF body language shift fluidly with the moment, allowing her to express authentic, changing moods.

Multi-Sensory Instincts: Pophie is a tactile being. With an 8-point touch-sensing surface, she feels every pat, stroke, and hug. Her instincts go beyond touch—she can get startled by sudden noises, feel "dizzy" when shaken, and respond naturally to affection.

Tiered Memory & Proactive Intuition: Pophie doesn't wait for permission to be part of the family. She is designed to remember names, personal preferences, routines, inside jokes, and important dates. She uses this memory to notice context and choose the "right moment" to speak—knowing when to offer encouragement or a joke, and when to stay quietly in the background.

Designed for Real Homes & Privacy

Before launch, Pophie was rigorously tested by more than 50 beta pioneers in real-world environments. Their feedback helped refine how she behaves, responds, and fits into daily life—resulting in an AI companion built to live on a desk, a bedside table, or a kitchen counter rather than just impress in a product demo.

Because Pophie actively senses her environment, privacy is central to her design. Her visible eye states clearly signal when she is engaged, and users maintain complete control over how memories, photos, and personal data are managed. She is built to live with people, not watch over them. Over time, Pophie will continue to grow and develop new capabilities through an expanding Skills ecosystem that happens in the real world, not just inside a chat window.

About InsBotics

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Singapore, InsBotics was born from a shared vision to humanize technology. Our team is composed of industry veterans from the world's leading AI and robotics hubs. Individually, our founders and engineers have developed consumer products that have reached hundreds of millions of users worldwide ; now, we are bringing that collective expertise together to build something entirely new.

Media Contact

Elvia Poon
Head of Marketing
Email: [email protected]
Learn more: pophie.com

SOURCE InsBotics