AG Bear

A picture of AG Bear
AG Bear (Almost Grown Bear)

AG Bear (short for Almost Grown Bear) is a talking teddy bear that responds to the sound of a human voice.[1][2] He was designed by Ron Milner and manufactured by Axlon, a company formed by Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, through his Catalyst Technologies venture capital firm.

The bear wears a durable collared blue shirt with its name embroidered in yellow letters on the front. The shirt has a velcro strap in the back, and the bear has a zipper that secures the internal black voice box.

Description and history

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AG Bear's voice is synth-based. The company referred to this as "bear talk". AG Bear was released in several different fur colors: the traditional bear is brown, while other bear colors include white and grey. AG's traditional clothing featured a blue corduroy shirt with a gold AG Bear monogram, although a red corduroy version also exists. Several other versions of the bear were released over time, including GrandPaw AG, GrandMaw AG,[3] Bearonica (AG's sister), and several Baby AG's.

When Axlon was eventually sold to Hasbro, AG Bear production was halted. But in the late 1990s, a multi-year lobbying effort resulted in an agreement to resume production of the original AG in a limited run edition.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Venture, Volume 8, Part 1. United States, Venture Magazine, Incorporated, 1986. 50.
  2. ^ Pollack, Andrew (25 December 1985). "IN HIGH-TECH SILICON VALLEY, ENTREPRENEURS TURN TO TOYS". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  3. ^ "A.G. Bear Robot by Axlon - The Old Robot's Web Site". www.theoldrobots.com. Retrieved 2025-10-01.