Toma vs Build-A-Bear Workshop
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
SF YC W24 AI voice agents for car dealerships at 7-fig ARR in under 1 year with 100+ dealers and 1M+ calls; $17.5M total ($17M a16z Series A Jun 2025) with Lithia/Cox partnerships competing for automotive dealership AI.
About
Toma is a San Francisco-based AI voice agent platform for automotive dealerships — backed by Y Combinator (W24) with $17.5 million in total funding including a $17 million Series A in June 2025 led by Andreessen Horowitz with Y Combinator, Scale Ventures, and angel investor Yossi Levi (Car Dealership Guy) — providing car dealerships with a fully integrated AI software suite that handles inbound and outbound voice calls across service, sales, finance, and IT departments. Surpassing 7-figure ARR in under one year since founding in early 2024, approaching 8-figure ARR, and serving 100+ dealerships across the US with 1 million+ call minutes handled, Toma partners with Lithia Motors and Cox Automotive positioning as the automotive industry's equivalent of Microsoft/OpenAI for dealership voice automation.
Experiential retail where customers stuff and customize plush animals; NYSE-listed with 450+ locations globally growing adult gifting and licensed characters competing with Jellycat.
About
Build-A-Bear Workshop is an interactive retail experience company where customers create personalized stuffed animals in-store — selecting an unstuffed plush animal (bears, bunnies, licensed characters from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars), participating in the stuffing process, adding a heart and making a wish, then dressing and accessorizing their creation. Founded in 1997 by Maxine Clark in St. Louis, Missouri, Build-A-Bear is publicly traded (NYSE: BBW) and operates approximately 450 company-owned and franchised workshop locations globally, generating approximately $450-500 million in annual revenue.\n\nBuild-A-Bear's retail model creates an experience-as-a-product that generates high emotional engagement — the in-store creation process makes the stuffed animal uniquely personal for children and adults, driving gift-giving occasion visits (birthdays, holidays, special events). The workshop format requires significant in-store participation, making it inherently difficult to replicate online, though Build-A-Bear has grown its e-commerce business with DIY kits and personalization options. Licensed character collaborations (Disney princesses, NFL teams, Star Wars, Pokémon) drive repeat visits as new characters are released.\n\nIn 2025, Build-A-Bear competes with Jellycat (premium stuffed animals), Ty (collectible plush), and experiential retail concepts for the children's gift and experience market. The company has been one of the more resilient specialty retailers in the era of e-commerce disruption — because the value proposition is the experience, not just the product, it has maintained relevance while other toy retailers consolidated or closed. The 2025 strategy focuses on expanding licensed character partnerships, growing the adult gifting market (Build-A-Bear has found success with pop culture adult audiences), and developing digital integration (virtual customization tools, augmented reality) to complement the in-store experience.
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