What we believe
Growing up should mean small steps forward, not sudden leaps into the unknown. Technology can help, when it’s built with care to guide and teach.
We are here to help families stay confidently connected. A way to give kids freedom with gentle boundaries, and parents peace of mind without taking their eyes off what matters.
Because independence isn’t letting go, it’s knowing they can always find their way back.
The initial idea
The initial idea for Karri was born in 2020 when our founder Pete was increasingly frustrated by not finding a suitable child-friendly alternative to a smartphone for his then 7 year old son.
"I was really annoyed by not being able to allow my son more freedom and independence. I knew he wanted to walk to school by himself or go meet his friends a few streets away but I was also nervous about not knowing where exactly he would be and not being able to get in touch.
After some research and not finding a child-friendly, screen-free solution that was working reliably everywhere I came up with the idea of starting Karri - a simple, real-time communication device without the distraction of a smart screen."
Growing
Some early investors came on board in 2023, alongside co-founders Carsten and Mehul, who together with Pete developed the idea into an actual product.
Today, our team has grown to over 20 people. Thanks to two years of invaluable feedback from our early community, we've moved well past those first prototypes. We are now shipping our 2nd Generation Karri Messenger.
While we're always fine-tuning the experience, we’ve built out helpful safety features like SOS Alerts based on what families actually need.
We're thrilled to give parents and young kids a screen-free, voice-first alternative that makes staying connected in the real world safe and simple.
Our journey so far
- December 2023
Together with friends we test and figure out what a real solution could look like... - January 2024
With the help of a 3D printing lab we test different sizes and show them to all the kids we know... - May 2024
With an incredible team effort and support from our amazing first customers we ship our first functioning prototypes - October 2024
We start sending out our first real Karri Messenger 1 devices - April 2025
The Karri experience is now fully complete with our app offering multi-chat, multi-device, parent controls and GPS tracking. - September 2025
Official announcement of our mass-market Karri Messenger 2 in collaboration with Pentagram. - December 2025
We send out our first Messenger 2 devices