Dogs are amazing animals to have as a pet. They’re extremely loyal and offer us unconditional love and emotional support, creating a strong connection that can positively impact people’s daily lives. However, people who suffer from Alzhemeier’s disease (the most common form of dementia) or other cognitive impairments can’t realistically own dog, as they cannot safely care for them or support their daily needs. Enter Tombot, a robotic animal and digital health solutions company that recently showcased newly enhanced cosmetics for its flagship product Jennie, a lifelike robotic Labrador puppy designed to revolutionize emotional support and mental health care for individuals with dementia, mild cognitive impairment, autism, anxiety, PTSD, and other health challenges.
WHO IS TOMBOT?
Tombot, Inc. is a robotic animal and digital health solutions company based in Santa Clarita, California that specializes in developing robotic animals that transform the daily life of individuals, families, and communities facing health adversities. The company was founded back in 2017 by Tom Stevens after his mother’s Alzheimer’s dementia progressed to the point where she could no longer safely care for her dog.
Tombot’s official logo
In addition to Stevens, the Tombot leadership team includes Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Hank Schorz, and Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer, Jesse Schorz. Before launching the company, Tombot’s leadership built a prior startup into one of the world’s largest litigation automation companies. They successfully exited that venture through acquisition in 2011.
Tombot’s first product, called “Jennie” is a lifelike robotic Labrador puppy created to bring comfort and emotional support to the 300+ million seniors worldwide struggling with dementia or mild cognitive impairment, as well as individuals facing mental health challenges including anxiety, loneliness, autism, depression, PTSD, and stress. Exceptionally realistic and fully autonomous, Jennie mimics the movements and responses of an 8-10 week-old puppy, providing the companionship and health benefits of a real pet to those who cannot safely care for or support a living animal.
Tombot Jennie robotic puppy companion
Tombot’s mission is to create the first affordable, FDA-regulated robotic pet— providing mental and physical health benefits while reducing the need for psychotropic medications and improving overall quality of life. By serving families, caregivers, and healthcare providers across home-help, clinical, and long-term care settings, Jennie is setting a new standard in safe, interactive companionship and health monitoring.
The company’s goal is for Jennie to be the first robotic pet recognized both as an FDA medical device and remote safety and health monitoring platform.
Tombot’s Jennie robotic animal companion was originally unveiled at last year’s CES 2025. In this year’s CES 2026, the company unveiled the final production cosmetics for Jennie. Designed in collaboration with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Jennie’s enhanced appearance will now be even more genuine looking, helping to reinforce the emotional bond formation it aims to provide to seniors with dementia.
At CES 2026, the Tombot booth replicated a comfortable living room environment with the goal of providing authentic, everyday interactions between Jennie and senior citizens. These demonstrations aimed to highlight how Jennie can promote daily comfort and relief for individuals suffering cognitive decline or chronic loneliness.
Tombot Jennie’s new enhanced appearance unveiled at CES 2026
During CES 2026, we had the opportunity to interview Tombot’s co-founder and CEO, Tom Stevens, who mentioned that “We launched Tombot to be in service to people who suffer from dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Our first product, Jennie, is specifically designed for seniors with dementia, who suffer from behavioral and psychological symptoms, loneliness, anxiety, depression, delirium, and even hallucinations and violent anger, like it was my mother’s case. To manage these symptoms, doctors historically have relied upon psychotropic medications, including antipsychotic, anti-anxiety, and antidepressant medications, which are particularly hard on the elderly.”
Tombot’s co-founder and CEO, Tom Stevens
Stevens then explained “Dozens of peer-reviewed studies to date show that where a senior with dementia can form an emotional attachment to an object—traditionally a human baby doll or a stuffed animal—that same senior gets a great deal of relief from those behavioral and psychological symptoms, and also a corresponding reduction in need for psychotropics. However, most seniors diagnosed with dementia don’t really care for those traditional objects. Research on robotic animals show these devices significantly outperform said traditional objects and have the added benefit of reducing pain and the need for pain medications.”
Stevens ended by noting that “The main problem with such solutions is that they’re either simple children’s toys, which have been rebranded for seniors, or they’re prohibitively expensive robots, which individuals with dementia cannot afford and most senior care facilities also can’t justify that expense. And so, it was our mission to develop a better emotional attachment object; one that consistently stimulates enduring emotional attachment, but is also available at a price that many people can actually afford. To achieve this, not only did we conduct formal research with over 700 seniors with dementia, but we also focused on having an effective solution that also delivers realism. And that’s how Jennie was born.”
WHAT IS TOMBOT’S JENNIE?
Tombot’s Jennie is a fully-interactive, lifelike robotic Labrador puppy created to bring comfort and emotional support to seniors struggling with dementia or mild cognitive impairment, as well as individuals facing mental health challenges including anxiety, loneliness, autism, depression, PTSD, and stress. Jennie is designed to seamlessly fit into a variety of settings, including home, hospitals, assisted living and memory care communities.
Tombot Jennie
At its core, Jennie integrates an array of interactive touch sensors all over its body, which allow her (i.e. the robot) to react to the user based on the location and intensity she is being touched, causing it to produce puppy-like reactions that enhance emotional connections with it.
What’s more is that Jennie also features voice activation software, which enables it to react to a user’s voice commands. For example, if you tell Jennie to “speak,” she will bark for you. Jennie can reproduce real puppy sounds based on the recordings from a 12 week-old Labrador puppy, making it your sound just like a real puppy while providing auditory comfort to the user.
Tombot Jennie
Jennie is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery. Thanks to that, you can recharge it by plugging it into a wall outlet overnight, and it should last all day.
Tombot’s Jennie also works together with the Tombot app, which allows users to name their puppy with a name of their liking, customize its functionality, and track user interactions on a day-to-day basis.
As the company continues to improve the technology behind its robotic animal solutions, so will each person’s robotic animal companion grow with it. Over time, Tombot will add new actions and commands that can be easily updated through its smartphone app.
WHAT ARE TOMBOT’s FUTURE PLANS FOR ITS JENNIE ROBOTIC PUPPY COMPANION?
With more than 18,000 pre-order and waitlist customers, Jennie has already gained global recognition for advancing robotic solutions that support emotional well-being.
Tombot has currently sold out its first litter of its Jennie robotic puppy companions. If you’re interested in purchasing it, know you can join a waitlist via the company’s official website. Once Tombot is close to shipping out their pre-ordered units, they’ll contact interested costumers with details on pricing and availability.
For more information on Tombot and its Jennie robotic emotional support animal, visit Tombot’s website.