Tuya: A Quiet Bargain (Probably)

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My brother-in-law, bless his heart, is obsessed with “smart” everything. It started with a thermostat, then lights, then a refrigerator that judges my grocery choices. He’s building a house where the appliances will likely stage an intervention. It’s exhausting just to visit. And it got me thinking, someone has to build the stuff behind the stuff. That’s how I stumbled onto Tuya (TUYA +3.77%). It’s not exactly a household name, which, frankly, is a good sign. Anything everyone’s talking about is already overpriced.

Tuya, as near as I can tell, is the plumbing of the smart home. They don’t make the shiny objects; they make the stuff that lets the shiny objects talk to each other. It’s like being the stage crew at a really elaborate, slightly terrifying puppet show. They have this AI cloud platform that lets companies build connected devices without, you know, actually building the entire software infrastructure. It’s efficient, and it’s remarkably unglamorous. Which, again, is a plus.

They’re basically the Android of the Internet of Things. Which is a compliment, I think. Android isn’t exactly known for its aesthetic beauty, but it works. And it’s everywhere. Tuya has over 1.62 million registered developers in 200 countries. That’s a lot of connected toasters. A truly unsettling amount, actually.

AI, Pets, and Existential Dread

CES 2026 was the turning point. My brother-in-law sent me a link to their booth, bragging about some new AI thing. I braced myself for another round of tech-bro enthusiasm, but… it was almost interesting. They unveiled this “Physical AI” ecosystem, which sounds like something out of a Philip K. Dick novel. Apparently, it’s supposed to learn your habits and coordinate your devices. I’m not sure I want my appliances learning my habits. It feels…invasive.

Then there’s “Hey Tuya,” their AI assistant. They’re pitching it as a real-world Jarvis. Which, if you haven’t seen the movies, is Tony Stark’s AI. It’s supposed to anticipate your needs. I suspect it will mostly just remind me I haven’t taken out the recycling. They even have an AI pet companion robot. A robot pet. I’m starting to suspect this is all a very elaborate social experiment.

Honestly, the robot pet feels like a bridge too far. But it’s not a gimmick, not exactly. It’s a signal that Tuya is trying to evolve beyond being the invisible infrastructure. They’re aiming to be a player in how AI actually impacts our lives, even if that impact is just a slightly unsettling robotic companion.

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The Numbers, and Why They’re Weirdly Reassuring

Here’s the really strange part. This company is profitable. They reported a GAAP net profit of $15 million in Q3 2025. That’s… unusual for a stock trading around $2.15 a share. Their gross margins are 48.3%, and they have over $1.026 billion in cash and zero debt. That’s 85% of their market cap. It’s like finding a twenty-dollar bill in an old coat.

The risk, of course, is that revenue growth is modest. But they’ve proven they can actually make money. And that balance sheet is…fortress-level. It’s almost suspicious. You’re getting this AI cloud platform, the developer ecosystem, and all their ambitious plans for pennies on the dollar. It feels…wrong. And usually, when something feels wrong, it’s a good sign.

For $100, you can get around 45 shares. It’s a small bet, admittedly. But it’s a bet on a profitable, cash-rich AI platform that the market seems to be ignoring. Sometimes, the best opportunities are the ones hiding in plain sight, or, in this case, powering your brother-in-law’s increasingly complex smart home. And that, frankly, is terrifying enough.

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2026-02-21 06:02