WMW #38: Meet the Mums Designing AI for Kids

An interview with founders of Kids AI, a mum-led tech and media company designing ethical AI tools for children aged 5–12

As AI becomes a bigger part of our everyday lives, and in schools, it’s natural for us as parents to wonder:

How will this impact our kids? What do we need to know to guide them safely and confidently?

That’s why I was SO delighted to have the opportunity to sit down with Irmak Atabek and Evren Yigit of Kids AI - a tech company building the first AI assistant and educational media designed specifically for children - to have this conversation that is important to us all, yet we are not talking about it enough.

As mothers and entrepreneurs, they’re thinking deeply about how to build tools that support - not replace - human connection, learning, and childhood development.

This conversation is an important one for any parent, educator, or carer navigating the future of tech and education.

You can watch the entire chat in the link above on Youtube.

Below is a summary of our conversation.

Q: What is Kids AI and how did the idea begin?
Irmak: Kids AI is a children-first tech and media company developing AI assistants and educational content for kids. The idea came from my 5-year-old daughter. She was curious about AI and started asking how an AI toy might respond to her. That made me realise how naturally children understand technology—they’re digital natives. So we thought, if our kids are going to interact with AI, we should be the ones building it; with safety, ethics, and child development in mind.

Q: What exactly is an AI assistant for kids?
Evren: We’re building an AI life skills assistant called Olly. As kids grow up surrounded by rapid AI automation, we believe tools like Olly can support them in learning important life skills like decision-making, time management, and collaboration. But it has to be safe, ethical, and useful—tailored for children.

Q: What age group is Olly AI designed for?
Irmak: We’re focusing on ages 5 to 12. The assistant behaves differently depending on age. Kids over 12 tend to move on from child-focused content, so we’ve designed Olly to support the needs of this specific age group.

Q: How are you making sure it’s safe and developmentally appropriate?
Evren: We’ve built a whole system based on science. We work with educators, psychologists, parents, and child development experts to create content and guide the training of our models. We’re also cautious about how the AI interacts with children—it doesn’t pretend to be a real friend or express emotions it doesn’t have. Safety and trust are our priorities.

Q: Have experts been directly involved in the creation?
Evren: Yes. Through our Innovation Hub on Kids AI we’ve interviewed global child and AI experts. Many have joined our Consultant Hub and contribute to our research and content development. We also run surveys with parents and educators to make sure we’re building what families actually need.

(Side note: You can contribute to a short survey for them here too, and I highly recommend you do it. It will take less than 1 minute of your time, but have a huge impact on what they are building for our kids.)

Q: How do you address concerns about screen time?
Irmak: We don’t want to add more screen time. Our goal is to transform passive screen time into active, engaging learning. Olly has usage limits based on age and encourages curiosity and critical thinking. It’s not here to replace parents—it’s a support tool, especially for kids who may not always have access to hands-on support at home.

Q: What does “AI literacy” mean to you?
Evren: Being AI literate means understanding how AI works, not just using it. We want both kids and parents to be educated on AI, so we’re creating an animated series called Zoe and Olly to model healthy interactions with AI in family settings. It’s about understanding AI as a tool—not magic—and using it wisely.

Q: When is the show Zoe and Olly launching?
Irmak: We’re aiming to release a few episodes by November 2025! It’s the story of a 10-year-old girl who builds her own AI-powered unicorn robot. The story follows Zoe, a 10-year-old girl whose childhood dream is to be friends with a unicorn.

As she grows older and learns unicorns aren’t real, she uses her curiosity and new tech knowledge to build her own AI-powered, solar-charged unicorn robot. Through her journey, children will be introduced to the basics of AI and robotics—not just through explanation, but through storytelling they can relate to and be inspired by.

It’s a creative, empowering way to help kids use AI, imagine and design with purpose.

Q: As founders and mothers, how are you balancing work and parenting?
Evren: Turkish coffee helps! But honestly, I focus on being fully present—whether I’m parenting or working. My daughter is my daily feedback loop.
Irmak: I’m a single mom, and it’s tough. But I try to have a growth mindset and to focus on the positive; I let my daughter be my moral compass. Being in the kids’ media space before has helped prepare me for this balance.

Q: How has it been working in AI as women in a male-dominated space?
Evren: Yes, it’s a male dominated space, however it’s the women founders we meet who are the ones talking about ethical and responsible AI. We bring warmth, empathy, and care to this space—and we embrace that.
Irmak: We’re also careful about who we accept investment from. Because we’re building for children, we can’t just accept money from anyone. Our values drive all decisions, especially during fundraising.

Q: What’s your larger vision?
Irmak: Our big vision is to be the most trusted children’s tech company.  Technology might change evolving to different forms, but our main currency is trust here. We’ve built systems to check that our content, tech, and decisions stay aligned with our mission to empower children and families.

If children are able to grab AI literacy concepts at a very early level, they will be able to use them much more wisely. And then maybe we can use AI to build a world where everybody can have access to tools that can empower them, that can educate them, that can make them greater, more self-fulfilled human beings… that's part of our vision too.

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I left this conversation feeling so inspired and hopeful; not just about the role of AI in our kids’ lives, but about what’s possible when mothers, educators, and technologists come together with intention and care.

Tools like Olly and shows like that about Zoe could help shape a future where tech supports our children’s growth, rather than distract from it.

If this interview resonated with you, there’s a simple way to be part of the journey.👇

📝 Kids AI is currently gathering insights from parents to better shape the future of their tools. If you’re a parent, caregiver, or educator, they’d love your input.

👉 Take their short survey here, it will take you less that 1 minute to answer and your voice will directly shape how AI supports children in the years to come.

More on Kids AI here.

More on the founders Irmak and Evren, here.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reply to this email or comment below.

Thank you for being part of the conversation 💛

Abha x