The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the High-Level Meeting on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence (WAIC2026) took place, during which Shanghai AnyDoor Technology Co., Ltd. (Soul) showcased its AI ecosystem based on real-time multimodal interaction technology, and released its AI hardware product B Soul, further exploring applications in emotional perception and intelligent interaction.

Tao Ming, CTO of Soul, stated that since the launch of the Soul App in 2016, Soul has evolved from a social application platform into an ecological company focusing on the integration of emotional perception, interaction technology, and AI models. Unlike general large model approaches, Soul centers around its self-developed interactive large model SoulX, building an AI application system based on "own applications + industry ecosystem".

It is understood that Soul started AIGC technology research and development around 2020, focusing on emotional understanding, voice interaction, and multimodal capabilities, and launched SoulX as the next-generation human-computer interaction technology foundation. At the WAIC site, Soul demonstrated real-time digital human capabilities based on SoulX, capable of understanding users, natural language dialogue, and generating synchronized voice, lip movements, expressions, and actions, enhancing the real-time and natural aspects of AI interactions.

In addition, Soul publicly displayed its AI hardware B Soul for the first time. This device integrates SoulX's voice interaction, emotional expression, and character cultivation capabilities, extending AI companionship from mobile devices to physical spaces, supporting instant activation, natural conversation, and personalized voice interaction.

Soul stated that B Soul is expected to begin mass production and sales starting in August 2026. As AI evolves from text-based interaction to multi-modal directions such as voice, vision, and emotion, emotional perception and real-time interaction capabilities are becoming key areas of competition in the next stage of intelligent applications.