Sony’s Aibo Robot Dog Is Back—In Ethereum NFT Form

Tech giant Sony is commemorating 25 years since the launch of Aibo, its companion robot dog, with an officially licensed soulbound NFT collection called “Entertainment Robot Aibo” on the Soneium blockchain.

The collection, which cannot be traded or transferred thanks to its soulbound nature, can be minted for free on OpenSea’s NFT marketplace, with users required only to pay a small gas fee to initiate the transaction.

In its official Discord community, Soneium’s team wrote that Aibo’s return as a soulbound token on the Ethereum layer-2 chain—which Sony’s Block Solutions Labs subsidiary co-created with Startale Group—reflects the nature of the original consumer robot dog.

Sony’s Aibo NFT artwork on Soneium. Image: Soneium/OpenSea

“Aibo was never just a product—it was a companion,” it wrote. “These non-transferable assets reflect the unique bond between Aibo and its owner.”

Thus far, over 9.8 million Aibo NFTs have been minted, but there’s only just over 38,000 unique owners according to OpenSea’s data—thanks in part to individual wallets being able to mint up to 1,000 NFTs. The mint is set to end on March 24.

A representative for Soneium did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

Aibo first launched in 1999 at a price point of $2,500, offering owners an “intelligent and trainable robot companion” that barked, walked, wagged its tail, and played with a ball. After that first edition, a variety of new models hit the market with numerous upgrades, new looks, and cheaper price points. The last new Aibo model released in 2018.

Details about potential future benefits for “Entertainment Robot Aibo” token holders were not disclosed.

Sony Block Solutions Labs launched Soneium’s mainnet in January. The blockchain, which has had more than 50 million transactions since its mainnet opened, previously hosted the launch of a collection of music NFTs.

Edited by Andrew Hayward