Realdoll has told SEXTECHGUIDE that the US sex robot brand will soon outsource much of its production to China, and may slash the cost of some Realdolls by around a third of their current prices.
The brand, founded in the mid-1990s by Matt McMullen, moved production from San Marcos, California to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2021. Now Realdoll plans to have the main body sections of its sex robots made in Shenzhen, China, but keep production of its interactive heads in the US.
Realdoll says it will also keep production of products and devices such as dildos and its AI vagina, plus its soon-to-be updated Realdoll AI app (more news on that below), in the US.
Realdolls with robotic AI-equipped heads usually cost over $11,000. Elliot Shea, the brand’s sales and innovation coordinator, said that following the China move Realdolls with robotic heads could sell for around $7,000-$8,000.
“It’s really difficult to manufacture full-bodied silicone sex dolls in America at an economically-friendly price,” said Shea, speaking at the 2025 Venus Berlin adult entertainment conference (pictured above).
He added: “We have a dedicated team that’s super-talented, but we realised that manufacturers and factories in China are doing it at a much cheaper price, and it would be a lot more beneficial for us to pursue that road of development.”
“We need to rethink what we’re doing”
Realdoll has been collaborating with two Shenzhen-based manufacturing companies to create body sections that Shea said passed Realdoll standards. They could go on sale by mid-2026.
Shea said: “It’s a matter of them sending us sample after sample, and us telling them design feedback, until we eventually get close enough to a doll that we’re satisfied with, that will be used for our Realdoll robots and possibly all of our dolls.”
In 2024 Realdoll became part of the Realbotix robotics company, following an acquisition. Realbotix is now focusing on making customer-facing and companion robots not designed for sex, and keeps Realdoll as a separate entity.
Realbotix recently told SEXTECHGUIDE that Realdoll is likely to become further separated from Realbotix in the near future, perhaps through a sale or merger.
Realdoll founder Matt McMullen (pictured above, right) said that despite seeking to lower Realdoll production costs with the China move, he wanted his sex robot brand to remain a premium product.
“We just need to rethink what we’re doing,” he told us. “I don’t want to compete with $600 dolls coming out of China. I want to elevate that and keep that separation [from Realbotix]. And I’d rather sell one really good doll than ten crappy ones.”
“So many different enhancements”
Shea sought to allay any concerns that outsourcing sex robot body production to China and cutting prices would signal a dip in Realdoll quality.
“Chinese manufacturers have implemented so many different enhancements for sex dolls that they have surpassed what we can provide to our customers,” he said. “Things like implanted hair, implanted eyebrows, eyelashes. We don’t necessarily have the capability or time to do that [in the US].”
“It’s impressive how Chinese special effects artists do that in their factories. I’ve seen it firsthand on tours: metal, aluminium, articulated skeletons, fingers, toes, gel, buttocks, gel, breasts, the whole nine yards,” Shea said. “I think our veterans [long-time Realdoll customers] will be highly appreciative of the new innovations that we proceed to release to the general public sometime soon.”
Realdoll Robots AI app incoming
Before the planned China-made Realdoll body rollout, the brand will release a new version of its app. Previously called Realdoll X, and briefly Realdoll VIP, the new incarnation will be called Realdoll Robots, though current website wording refers to it as an ‘AI companion’ and lists it as ‘coming soon’.
The app will cost $39.99 a month to subscribe to, and a subscription will be required for an AI Realdoll sex robot head to perform functions such as talking.
The new app will also provide a digital AI avatar version of your sex robot that you can customize. Shea (pictured above) said you’ll be able to “talk dirty” to the avatar.
The Realdoll Robots app is set to launch before the end of 2025, though no specific date was forthcoming.
Leave a Reply