Wang Le
Wang Le is the founder and CEO of FoloToy, a brand that develops conversational AI toys for children, with plush toys featuring customizable characters, voices, and conversation topics, plus kits that turn ordinary toys into AI toys.
Background and FoloToy
Company facts: according to a January 2025 report by The Economist Observer (经济观察报, republished by Sina Finance), the FoloToy company was founded in July 2023 by Wang Le and Guo Xinghua, both experienced in hardware development. The report says the company raised a multimillion-RMB angel round, had shipped about 20,000 consumer units by November 2024, and had a team of 16. Product facts: the FoloToy website lists finished toy lines such as Fofo, Cactus, Panda-Momo, and Teddy-Kumma, a “magic chip” that adds interactivity to ordinary toys, a parent dashboard, and open-source self-hosting resources; the same report says the Magicbox module can connect to models including Doubao, Qwen, and ChatGPT. FoloToy also maintains open-source projects on its GitHub organization, created in August 2023.
Personal background: on his member profile at Chaihuo (a maker community), Wang Le says he studied computer science at Tianjin University and taught there for two years, worked in R&D at a Silicon Valley hardware company, co-founded the automotive smart-hardware company UBI in Shanghai in 2013, founded an industrial IoT company in 2018, and started FoloToy in 2023 by retrofitting his own child’s Huohuotu storyteller toy, building in public. An April 2025 speaker profile by Yangfan Chuhai confirms him as FoloToy founder and CEO and a speaker at PAGC 2025, describing him as a serial entrepreneur with years of experience in technology and education.
Mention in the show
Wang Le does not appear in the episodes quoted on this page. In Weekly #001’s chapter on ESP32 boards becoming “the new LEGO,” while discussing DIY smart hardware, Xiangyang Qiaomu says “look at Wang Le and what they have…” (see the line in the Chinese transcript), and Yang Pan adds that Wang Le’s device is a high-spec version that they will show the audience in the next episode (see the line in the Chinese transcript). This is an indirect mention by the hosts; his identity is not discussed, and the remarks are not statements by Wang Le. The source is episode 001’s chapter; the linked transcript is in Chinese.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded FoloToy?
The Economist Observer report lists Wang Le and Guo Xinghua as co-founders, and the PAGC 2025 speaker profile identifies Wang Le as founder and CEO.
What does FoloToy make?
Conversational AI toys. The official site lists plush product lines, a magic chip that upgrades ordinary toys, customizable voices and topics, and an open-source self-hosted server; see folotoy.com.
What did Wang Le do before FoloToy?
Per his Chaihuo profile, he worked on automotive smart hardware (co-founding UBI in 2013) and industrial IoT (founding a company in 2018), after studying computer science at Tianjin University and teaching there for two years. These details come from that self-written profile.