Billionaire Elon Musk‘s ex-girlfriend, Canadian singer Grimes, is developing Grok, an AI-powered plush toy in the shape of a rocket that can interact with children. It is the first product from Silicon Valley startup Curio, which is using Open AI’s technology to create a range of toys that, according to the company’s creators, will be able to hold long, fully interactive conversations with a child, making it appear almost like a friend. According to The Washington Post, Ms Grimes is an investor and adviser to the company, and she will also provide voice to the toy.
The toy was designed with Ms Grimes’ children in mind, according to the company’s CEO, Misha Sallee. “The toy was designed for X and the other kids but X primarily because he’s of age where he can actually talk to the toy and it can talk back more effectively.”
Grimes’ AI toy Grok, unrelated to Elon Musk’s startup. Parenting tool
It should be noted that the Canadian singer has three children with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Elon Musk’s first child with Canadian musician Grimes, X AE A-XII, was born in 2020. In 2022, the ex-couple had their second child through surrogacy, a daughter named Exa Dark Siderael Musk. Following their divorce in September 2021, the couple has been co-parenting their children.
There is, however, no link between Elon Musk’s AI startup, Grok, and the toy. Curio claims that the AI product is completely unrelated and that it owns the name trademark. Grok was created by Grimes and the Curio team. They claim it is a contraction of the word Grocket, which was created because Grimes’ children are frequently around rockets because their father owns SpaceX.
The current version of the toy is available for preorder for $99, but it will not ship until next year. It currently requires a Wi-Fi connection. Curio sees Grok as a useful tool for parents. Parents can program a bedtime prompt, for example, and Grok will enter “bedtime mode” if the toy steers all conversations with the child towards bedtime or if Grok falls asleep on his own.
Curio currently employs four full-time employees and several contractors in the marketing and manufacturing departments, in addition to its two founders. The company was founded earlier this year. Grimes and other tech enthusiasts, including former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, invested in the startup early on.
