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Rabbit, US$200 AI-powered gadget, becomes unexpected hit after CES 2024 launch by Chinese entrepreneur
- The Rabbit R1, which learns and repeats how users interact with apps, has sold out of five pre-order rounds since launching in Las Vegas this month
- Rabbit Inc was started by Jesse Lyu Cheng, a Xian native who sold his previous start-up to Chinese AI giant Baidu
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Che Panin Beijing
A handheld gadget powered by artificial intelligence (AI) developed by start-up Rabbit Inc is gaining quick popularity after capturing the imagination of consumers during its launch this month as a new way of interacting with AI beyond smartphones and computers.
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Rabbit, started by Chinese technology entrepreneur Jesse Lyu Cheng, said its R1 device priced at US$199, which was unveiled in Las Vegas the same week as CES 2024 earlier this month, has seen five batches of pre-orders sell out since its debut.
The Santa Monica-based company did not exhibit at CES, but the timely launch has brought widespread attention from consumers and tech media alike to the palm-sized orange box that is meant to be another complementary device in users’ gadget arsenals.
Last week, the company said on X that it was starting pre-orders for a sixth batch of 50,000 Rabbit R1 devices, after its latest batch of 10,000 devices sold out.
Since the 2022 launch of ChatGPT, which thrust large language models (LLMs) and generative AI into the public consciousness, start-ups and big tech companies around the globe have raced to explore the next generation of AI-powered devices that could revolutionise the ways humans and machines interact, transcending experiences offered by today’s app-focused smartphones.
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