Hong Kong-based robotics startup Rice Robotics has announced the launch of an AI-powered companion robot, the Minibot M1, developed in partnership with Floki. Operating on the decentralized RICE AI protocol, the robot will offer support for daily tasks and emotional interaction. It will also reward users with crypto tokens for spending time with the robot.
Announced in a press release, the Minibot M1 is a sleek, white companion robot that will be branded in collaboration with Floki. It is designed to provide support for daily tasks, such as managing household schedules and retrieving online information. The robot will also offer companionship through interactive features like music, storytelling, and conversational engagement.
In return for interacting with the robot, users will earn $RICE tokens, which will be introduced alongside the robot and serve as the utility token of the RICE AI protocol. The token will debut on TokenFi Launchpad, with staking opportunities available for holders of $TOKEN, the native token of TokenFi. Airdrops of $RICE will also be issued to both $FLOKI and $TOKEN.
This launch marks another step in Floki’s broader strategy to expand into tokenized AI and blockchain-enabled services. Through its sister project TokenFi, Floki aims to facilitate the tokenization of real-world assets and data, including AI-generated content and robotic learning models.
Earlier this year, Rice Robotics secured over $7 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Soul Capital, and Audacy Ventures. The company is currently developing a decentralized data-sharing model where robots can autonomously exchange training data to improve performance without centralized control.
This initiative is in response to the limitations of existing centralized data models used by tech giants like Google and Meta. To achieve optimal performance, robots typically require massive amounts of data, which they can collect more efficiently through autonomous exchange rather than relying on a single entity to aggregate and distribute the data.
According to industry projections, the AI robotics sector is currently valued at approximately $22 billion and is expected to exceed $100 billion by 2030. Several startups are venturing into the development of consumer-oriented companion robots, aiming to capitalize on the growing demand for such devices and technologies.
