KARRI funding news – London-based KARRI Raises £775k in Pre-Seed Funding

The round was led by 468 Capital and included contributions from a notable group of angel investors such as Verena Pausder (an early backer of play-based learning provider Edurino and Chair of the Board at the German Startup Association), Hakan Koç (founder and CEO of the global IoT provider 1GLOBAL), and Michael Hernaus and Wolfgang Reisinger (founder and managing director of Tractive, the GPS pet tracking company).

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Other participants include Sven Vaders (VP of Product and a founding member of the Frankfurt-listed company Tonies), Matthias Laug (co-founder and former CTO of Tier Mobility with expertise in IoT), and Christian Indra (a senior product leader at Shopify).

The investment marks a major step forward in the company’s mission to enable a seamless way for parents and young kids to stay in touch, giving kids greater independence and parents peace of mind. KARRI will use the funding to take its product from the current prototype testing phase to mass production and rollout in the UK.

It has built a simple and reliable solution by providing a data-enabled walkie talkie for children which is securely integrated with a smartphone app for parents. Designed for children aged four to ten, it is a robust and waterproof device which allows children to send messages simply by pushing a button and speaking.

Parents can receive and send messages back via the KARRI app, and track their kids’ location via GPS. For additional security, parents can enable geo-fencing to demarcate a “safe zone” and be automatically notified if their child roams beyond this area. Kids can also use their KARRI like a classic walkie talkie and communicate with one another in channels, as well as with their parents and relatives, all securely managed via the KARRI smartphone app for parents.

Alexander Kudlich, General Partner at 468 Capital said: "Our investment in KARRI underlines our commitment to backing innovations that redefine how technology can be used responsibly and enhance our daily lives. The team has ambitious plans to support parents with young kids and beyond, and we’re excited for what comes next."

About KARRI

London-based KARRI launched in December 2023, offering pre-orders initially to UK customers following two years of developing and prototyping. KARRI expects to ship its first finished products at the end of August 2024, with a full public launch to follow. KARRI allows children to send messages simply by pushing a button and speaking, while parents can receive and send messages back via the KARRI app