Your AI companion doesn’t have to be confined to your phone. It can be standing in a jar on your desk.
At the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show, the popular gaming company Razer showed off its 3D holographic technology, Project AVA. The “desk companion,” which currently uses xAI’s Grok AI technology, can be reserved online.
While they’re far from mainstream, physicalized AI companions aren’t new. Smaller companies like Dipal and Code27 have long sold these projects, marketing the ability to be closer to your digital friend.
But Razer is the biggest company yet to enter the space. While major tech companies, from xAI to OpenAI, see opportunity in AI companions, the physical manifestation of AI companions has largely remained 2D. Razer is now betting on the trend — this time, in 3D.
Choose your companion
Project AVA brings your AI companion to life in one of five hologram bodies.
Customers can choose between Ava, a bubbling Razer logo, or four humanlike forms. There’s catgirl Kira, inked-up Zane, spectacled Faker, and professional Sao.
Sao seems to replicate a Japanese influencer that Razer often promotes. “Connect on a personal level with an idol that’s captured hearts everywhere,” her description reads. The avatars are still being developed and are subject to change.
Project AVA’s companions are 5.5 inches tall, and use “human-like vision and audio sensing for full contextual awareness,” the company said. The current iteration runs on xAI’s Grok, though it intends to open up to other leading AI companies.
What can you do with your Project AVA companion? Razer provided some examples: tracking moods, planning schedules, analyzing spreadsheets, translating conversations, and hyping you up.
Falling in love doesn’t make the list. While a variety of NSFW companions capitalize on the desire for digital intimacy, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan told Bloomberg that the product was not intended for stereotypically lonely gamers.
“We’re not trying to foster a relationship, but we do acknowledge that people are using their AIs in a more personal way,” he said.
Razer has not yet announced the price of Project AVA and says it’s expected to ship in the second half of 2026. Customers can reserve one online with a $20 deposit fee.
The AI companion race is heating up
As the AI race intensifies, companies are realizing that users don’t just want a chatbot to be their accountant or research assistant. Many want a friend — or even a romantic companion.
Replika pioneered the American market of the companion push, launching in 2019.
Elon Musk’s xAI entered the AI companion game in 2025, premiering its anime girl Ani and red panda Rudi. Later, it also debuted a male companion, Valentine, inspired by “Twilight” and “50 Shades of Grey.”
XAI’s companions have more NSFW abilities, including the ability to strip down to lingerie and describe sex acts. For some, the companions have formed lasting relationships, including one male user in his 20s who previously told Business Insider he would be interested if xAI ever offered a version of its anime AI companion, Ani, with a physical body.
Many of OpenAI’s users have also made emotional connections with ChatGPT and its AI voice models. And while OpenAI has previously leaned away from NSFW offerings, CEO Sam Altman more recently announced that the company would open up an age-gated erotica feature, though the December deadline he set has since been pushed back.
These companions all operate through digital interfaces. Some, like Replika, can be accessed using a virtual reality headset, making the experience feel more realistic.
3D companions may be the next frontier. They’ve boomed in Japan, where one man married his Gatebox companion, which, like Razer’s offering, also appears in anime form.
Razer is clearly staking its claim — even if it says its project isn’t oriented toward romantic love.
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