Razer’s CEO waited 20 years for everyone to become a gamer. He says AI is finally making it happen

On a mild Friday afternoon, I sat across from a 5.5-inch-tall AI hologram, fidgeting as its creators prompted it to critique my fashion sense.

Fortunately, I passed.

“Your style is elegant and soft,” said Sumi, a female avatar with black-and-green hair.

“That cream halter top looks really lovely on you, and your wavy hair gives a gentle, classic vibe.” I breathed a sigh of relief and sheepishly thanked Sumi for the compliment.

Sumi—and her male counterpart Nico—are virtual personalities that users can toggle between on Razer AVA, a desktop AI companion powered by xAI’s Grok.

Each has a scripted backstory: Sumi is an illustrator from Tokyo who has a calico cat and enjoys “cozy gaming,” while Nico is a freelance engineer and skater living in downtown Los Angeles.

Sumi is kind and warm, while Nico is more curt and to-the-point.

They’re some of the newest faces of Razer, a cult gaming hardware brand that’s now trying to become an AI company.

“AI is going to bring a new renaissance to all of gaming,” Min-Liang Tan, Razer’s co-founder and CEO, tells Fortune at the firm’s Singapore office.

“Today, gaming is an industry worth hundreds of billions, and we believe that AI will make it a trillion-dollar one.” The industry generated roughly $188.8 billion in revenue last year , serving over 3.5 billion players worldwide.

Tan—who has spent two decades telling anyone who would listen that everyone would eventually become a gamer—is convinced AI is the force that finally gets gaming there. ‘A gamer first’ Tan’s route into the industry was sideways.

A lawyer by training, he grew up an avid player of fantasy role-playing games like Ultima , the series created by game designer Richard Garriott in the 1980s.

“I would say I was a gamer first, rather than being a lawyer first,” Tan says.

“But like every good Asian child, my parents only gave me the option of being either a doctor or lawyer.” In 1999, while still practicing law, Tan teamed up with Robert Krakoff , an American businessman he had met while gaming online, to build a gaming mouse.