Razer Appears Even Extra Confused About Its ‘AI Waifu’ Than the Remainder of Us

PC and peripherals maker Razer believes that someone, someplace, is determined to place an anime cat lady on their desk, like their private imprisoned Tinkerbell who’s pressured to go with them on command. The firm’s Project Ava consists of both a feminine waifu or male husbando hologram housed inside a glass jar that makes use of conversational AI to speak to customers. The factor is, Razer doesn’t know when it will likely be out, or—apparently—a lot else about this machine it guarantees shall be an precise product.

We went hands-on with Project Ava throughout CES 2026. It’s filled with know-how we’ve seen earlier than—specifically, an animated avatar and AI chatbot that’s meant to behave as a participant’s gaming mentor and desktop companion. Razer is generally identified for its PC gaming laptops, mice, and headsets, but it surely usually goes to CES with a honest few idea gadgets in tow; therefore Ava’s “Project” nomenclature. In this case, Razer swore to customers that Project Ava and its different AI gadget—a pair of headphones with cameras and AI visible capabilities known as Project Motoko—would change into actual merchandise… finally.

During an interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Razer’s co-founder and CEO, Min-Liang Tan, couldn’t provide many specifics about what’s happening with its waifu in a jar, nor a lot about how folks should buy it. Project Ava is currently open for “reservations” that price $20. Those reservations will finally change into preorders with a promised, although obscure, launch date within the second half of 2026. At the identical time, Tan stated they had been nonetheless getting suggestions and “hear[ing] what the concerns are.” And there definitely are considerations, contemplating we’ve but to see an AI-centric gadget accomplish something our present merchandise couldn’t already do.

Can you really purchase Project Ava?

What’s extra, Razer hasn’t settled on what’s really happening inside its AI companion machine. Tan stated, “We have not disclosed the actual specs of the product, and not even, for example, which character models, or even which model it’s gonna be running at this point in time. We’re leaving that absolutely open.” Razer beforehand advised Gizmodo it was working with esports stars to probably stick their mugs and voices within the jar. Hopefully, it’s comfy with the brand new parasocial relationships customers will naturally create with their likeness.

Tan additionally advised The Verge’s Nilay Patel, “So what we have actually said is that these are reservations. They’re not pre-orders, per se. So, ultimately, when we do launch the product, and it could be a long way out, by then, because of the specs.”

In an e mail assertion to Gizmodo, Razer stated, “The $20 reservation for Project Ava is a refundable deposit towards the final purchase price of the product. We will have more information on pre-orders for Project Ava in the future and look forward to sharing more information soon.”

Essentially, the reservation is a preorder for a preorder. It units you up in line to get a Project Ava (figuring out that’s positively not the ultimate identify) with the hope that you just’ll really need it as soon as the corporate reveals what’s really happening inside. On its product web page, Razer guarantees you’ll be able to cancel the reservation and ask for a refund. The firm additional implied that Project Ava could also be in sizzling demand, and solely those that get in line first can hope to get their waifu shipped to their door at some obscure future date.

Razer’s CEO doesn’t see the issue with Elon Musk’s Grok

Project Ava, as an AI chatbot companion, was already an idea Razer had proven off earlier than. The hooked up waifu hologram is merely a facade for what we’ve skilled earlier than from the likes of Microsoft. The “Gaming Copilot” remains to be in beta, and it’s presently horrible at what it’s imagined to do. In some instances, Copilot doesn’t even know a sport’s controls, despite the fact that they had been printed by Microsoft’s Xbox model. In my quick time with Project Ava, the waifu AI wouldn’t provide me any stable recommendation on the way to handle recoil in a sport like Battlefield 6. Mind you, the demo Razer set us up with was the sport’s goal follow mode that’s all about aiming.

Razer was reluctant to inform us precisely what was occurring contained in the glass jar, past the truth that it was utilizing Elon Musk’s brainchild, Grok, as its centerpiece AI mannequin. We additionally thought that was an odd selection. When pressed, Razer advised Gizmodo that Grok had the most effective conversational mannequin that helped it sound extra human-like. Never thoughts that Grok is on the heart of quite a few controversies on X (previously Twitter), the place the chatbot was prepared to speak brazenly about “MechaHitler” and share nonconsensual sexual photographs. The purpose why Grok appears extra conversational is as a result of it’s designed with “tone” in thoughts and fewer guardrails—or, extra particularly, made to parrot Musk’s more and more nativist worldview.

“My focus to date has been more in terms of what’s the best conversational model that we’ve got, and they’re great, they’re fantastic,” Tan stated.