Barbie, among other toys, could get an AI makeover.
Mattel, the toy giant behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, has struck a deal with OpenAI to help design and develop toys using the startup’s technology, signaling a new era of AI-assisted play tied to its billion-dollar brands.
The first product born out of this partnership—powered by OpenAI’s flagship product ChatGPT and its other generative AI tools—is expected to debut later this year, though details remain under wraps.
“With OpenAI, Mattel has access to an advanced set of AI capabilities alongside new tools to enable productivity, creativity, and company-wide transformation at scale,” Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer at OpenAI, said in a statement.
The discussion between the two companies began last year. The deal does not entail licensing Mattel’s intellectual property to OpenAI, retaining full creative control over its products.
The partnership also includes Mattel adopting ChatGPT Enterprise across its business to bolster product development and creative brainstorming with the aim of accelerating innovation.
“Our work with OpenAI will enable us to leverage new technologies to solidify our leadership in innovation and reimagine new forms of play,” Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer of Mattel, said in a statement.
The deal lands amid a chorus of resistance from Hollywood heavyweights like Ron Howard and Cynthia Erivo, who’ve publicly pushed back against OpenAI and Google as they lobby the U.S. government to let their AI models train on copyrighted works.
OpenAI also launched its “most intelligent mode,” GPT o3-pro, earlier this week. The model handles everything from analyzing files to searching the web, pushing the bar for AI capabilities. The AI giant also onboarded former Instacart CEO Fidji Simo as its head of applications earlier this year.
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