AI intimate companions are rapidly shifting from text-based chatbots to multimodal virtual partners and physical robots, driven by a global loneliness crisis and explosive user demand. The market is projected to grow from $36.8B today to $140B by 2035, with more than 500M users and increasing realism, emotional intelligence, and social presence. These systems will reshape relationships, mental health, cultural norms, and economics while raising major ethical, legal, and privacy concerns.
