Pleo: a baby dinosaur robot that went through bankruptcy and a buyout

Pleo is a baby dinosaur robot designed by Furby co-creator Caleb Chung. It launched in 2007 at $349, and its maker Ugobe went bankrupt in 2009.

MakerUgobe (USA). Innvo Labs from 2009

DesignerCaleb Chung (co-creator of Furby)

UnveiledDEMO conference, February 2006. Planned for Christmas 2006 at under $200

LaunchDecember 2007 in the US, $349 (sources differ on the ship date, 3 or 5 December)

FormBaby dinosaur. 38 sensors and 14 motors. About 40 minutes of play per 3–4 hours of charging

CompanyUgobe filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2009, with $1.6 million in assets and $3.6 million in liabilities

AfterwardsInnvo Labs bought the rights and relaunched it in 2009. The follow-up Pleo rb cost $469–470 (sources differ on whether it launched in late 2010 or late 2011)

Ended byCompany failure. Ugobe went bankrupt; we could not confirm how long Innvo Labs kept selling it.

See the robotIEEE Spectrum ROBOTS guide ↗

Maker bankrupt, then bought out; current sales unconfirmed

Timeline

2006.02UnveiledDEMO conference
2007.12Launch$349
2009.04Maker bankruptUgobe, Chapter 7
2009.10RelaunchedInnvo Labs, about $350
2012Sales unclearOfficial page shows only 2012

How a sub-$200 target became $349

Pleo is a baby dinosaur robot made by the US company Ugobe and designed by Caleb Chung, co-creator of Furby. It was unveiled at the DEMO conference in February 2006 and was due by Christmas that year at under $200. It actually launched in December 2007, and the price had risen to $349. It had 38 sensors and 14 motors. A full charge took 3 to 4 hours and gave about 40 minutes of play.

Bankrupt a year after $19.2 million in sales

Ugobe made $19.2 million in revenue in 2008, but only about $210,000 in 2009 before it filed. After moving its headquarters from California to Idaho, it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2009 with $1.6 million in assets and $3.6 million in liabilities. Innvo Labs bought the rights to Pleo at auction and put the same product back on sale in October 2009 for about $350. The follow-up Pleo rb cost $469–470. The Pleo rb site shows only a 2012 copyright, so whether it is still sold is unconfirmed.

Bought as a toy, compared with a pet

In a study where six families lived with Pleo for two to ten months, participants treated it as a toy but kept comparing it with real pets, and their interest fell over time. IEEE Spectrum’s 2008 review concluded: “The folks at Ugobe may be onto something, but they’re not there yet.” In a Yale study of four boys with autism, the children held eye contact with Pleo longer than with a person. At a workshop run by Kate Darling, most participants hesitated when asked to torture and kill their Pleos.

Good reactions don’t help if the company can’t hold on

Pleo drew enough reaction from people that researchers used it often. But its price rose well above the first target, and the company went bankrupt a year and a half after launch. Once the company was gone, another firm bought the rights and sold the same product again. That is a different path from Jibo, whose servers went off when the company closed.

If the company that made this product disappears, can someone else take it over?

What we haven’t confirmed

How many units Ugobe and Innvo Labs sold in total
Until when Innvo Labs sold and supported Pleo
The exact launch date of Pleo rb
Where Innvo Labs is actually based