Cartwheel Computer

Kids are naturally curious and creative. They love to write, draw, build, and play with whatever they come across.

Computers are wonderful creative tools. By combining digital drawings and text, and with the help of a printer, you can make books, cards, signs, comics, and much more. Back in the 80s and 90s, you could leave a kid unsupervised with a Macintosh, and later they might come and show you some art they made, or a story they printed out. Like playing with a typewriter or a tape player, or some other useful device, it was a safe and wholesome activity. Today, parents have a lot of fear and anxiety around computers, tablets, and phones, all of which have become channels to push content and monetize engagement. The open Web is always a click away, and it's difficult to lock things down to make a device suitable for a kid. Every device sends and receives texts, phone calls, and emails, displays news stories, wants to sync your contacts, recommend apps to install, and so on.

At Cartwheel, we're building the computer that deserves a place next to a kid's Legos and markers. A computer that they can explore fully, without any ads or inappropriate content, that parents can trust, with a built-in suite of creative apps and an emphasis on making physical things and interacting with family and friends.

Amal (CEO, head of product) and David (CTO, lead developer) went to high school and MIT together, and since then we have both founded start-ups with successful exits, as well as worked in software and product development at large and small companies. My company, EtherPad, was in the Y Combinator 2007 batch and was acquired by Google.  Together, we are utterly committed to building not just a great tool and experience for kids and families, but a technology company that honors and celebrates childhood.

At this pre-seed stage, we are especially interested in finding supporters who believe in the vision, and perhaps who are parents themselves. We know the proof points we will have to hit to raise future rounds, including prototyping and designing the product, market validation, and key hires to complement our own expertise. This round provides the runway to get those proof points.