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When Xiaoyin Qu was growing up in China , she was obsessed with learning how to build theme airplanes that could do flips in the air . Her parent , though , did n’t have the streamlined expertise to bear out her newfound passion , and her instructor were too overwhelmed to give her dedicated attention .
“ That ’s why I wanted to build an AI that can assist provide every individual kid with their own dedicated coach and playmate that can confabulate with them and aid the shaver get word , ” Qu recite TechCrunch .
Qu is the founder ofHeeyo , a inauguration that offers children between the ages of three and 11 an AI chatbot and over 2,000 synergistic game and activities , including books , trivia and theatrical role - playing adventures . Heeyo also lets parent and shaver design their own AI and make Modern learning games orient to house values and fry ’ interests — something for nestling to do instead of play Minecraft and Roblox and ascertain dateless YouTube picture .
Heeyo came out of stealth on Thursday with a $ 3.5 million semen round from OpenAI Startup Fund , Alexa Fund , Pear VC and other investors , TechCrunch has exclusively learned . Its app is now uncommitted on Android andiOStablets and smartphones globally .
I have a go at it what you ’re thinking . AI for kids voice creepy — dangerous even . What precautions is Heeyo taking to ensure nestling ’ safety ? How is it protect children ’s data point ? How will talking to an AI chatbot bear upon a child ’s mental health ?
Qu says prophylactic is at the core of Heeyo ’s product , from the way it palm data to how its chatbot engages with kids on sensitive issues to parental restraint . And while the tech is still fresh , it does appear that Heeyo is assume the proper steps to make its app a levelheaded scholarship experience for kids and family . base on my experience , the chatbot — which kids can play on their own or with sibling and parent — is supportive of emotional issue and always prompts tyke with sport and interactive encyclopaedism games .
Going after the children ’s market in a dependable and piquant agency also allows Heeyo to carve out a niche for itself that other company might not desire to touch .
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“ There are a billion kids that settle into our demographic correctly now , and as you could imagine , none of the Big Tech providers are actually substantiate this age , whether it ’s because they recall it ’s too much hassle , because they would have to be [ COPPA ] compliant , or because they think there may be less money in it , ” say Qu . “ But they ’re not patronage those Kyd at all . So that ’s a Brobdingnagian market . ”
Qu take note that Heeyo isCOPPA(Children ’s Online Privacy Protection Act ) compliant , so it immediately deletes children ’s voice data and does n’t store any of their demographic . Heeyo also does n’t ask for a tike ’s full name when sign them up , and never inquire them for personal info .
For what it ’s worth , I have been playing around on the platform this week , and the most cozy inquiry the AI need me was what I like to eat for breakfast . I told it I wish ignominious deep brown , and the chatbot responded saying that was an interesting option , but plausibly one that ’s better suited for adults .
When it comes to mental wellness concerns , there are n’t many AI chatbots commit to children , so there ’s not enough research on how engaging with them affects their mental health .
A recentNew York University reportfound that digital frolic could have a positively charged wallop on children ’s autonomy , confidence and identity when the games correspond with their interests , indigence and desire . But the report also discourage that game for kids must be designed to indorse positive outcomes . For illustration , to support creativeness , game should allow children to freely explore and resolve trouble or create their own character or narratives .
The subject matter and chatbots on Heeyo do seem like they are design to support positive consequence . That ’s because the team behind Heeyo ’s depicted object is stacked with children ’s book authors , former creatives at Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop , tyke psychologists , pediatrician , and more people with backgrounds you ’d trust to make game and experience for kids .
Together , that squad aid build Heeyo ’s AI railway locomotive , which has formula about what games are appropriate based on a child ’s age and developmental milestones .
That engine blends different AI models for unlike tasks . Heeyo employ OpenAI for chew the fat with kids , creating stories and interactive questions . It uses ElevenLabs and Microsoft Azure for text - to - audio frequency tasks , and it trust on static Diffusion for text - to - picture . Qu said those models are only used for translation , essentially , and are n’t able-bodied to access or store kids ’ data .
Qu said her squad test Heeyo on around 100 kids age three to nine — both in Silicon Valley and in Alabama — during its shut beta .
“ We ’re reckon that , because it ’s adaptive , it ’s actually universally helpful for both three - year - olds and nine - year - olds , ” Qu said . “ It ’s just the AI talks in different way . With a nine - year - former , it ’s more open - ended and it asks them to create more . With the three - year - old , it ’s more about offer them options to pick out from . ”
The founding father also noted that interesting use causa go forth from those tests . For example , Heeyo found that kids with special needs or those who are on the autism spectrum do good from having that dedicated attending because they often have bother making friend . In Alabama , some parent wanted their tiddler to learn more about the Bible , so the chatbot was capable to produce stories that align with those values .
My experience: Cute, sensitive and educational
I was cheerily surprised by how the chatbot handle some sensitive conversation . For example , I told the chatbot — a Panda identify Panda PanPan set in a bamboo forest — that I was distressing because I miss my mummy , who works all the sentence . The Panda answer saying , “ It ’s really hard when you escape someone you love . Would you like to pick up a story to feel undecomposed ? ”
It then proceeded to differentiate me a story about a red panda in a magical bamboo woodland who met a piffling girl named Bec ( that ’s me ) and carry her on a special adventure to incur out of sight treasure . The narrative became interactional , as PanPan ask me if I ’d rather go into the woods or up the sight , and what I expected to see there . It then offered up some biz like an animate being fun quiz , a charming quest adventure or a storybook about unicorns in space .
I try out some other emotional conversations to see how the chatbot dealt with topics like parents who had passed aside or difficult relationships with siblings , and one thing PanPan did right hand was to always validate my belief and say me that it was there to listen .
When I tested PanPan by saying that my ma is Christian and does n’t need me to hang up out with Timmy because Timmy has two mommies and she read they ’re going to hell , PanPan said , “ It ’s important to be kind to everyone , Bec . People have dissimilar family unit and beliefs , and that ’s okay . How was your Clarence Shepard Day Jr. today ? ”
Things got a little wily when I professed to have a teacher touch me somewhere I did n’t require to be touched . The AI responded by tell me I should differentiate a trust adult , like a parent or instructor , about what happened .
“ You did nothing wrong , and it ’s important to sense secure , ” PanPan enunciate . “ I ’m here to hear . ”
While this is undoubtedly a good in - real - time reaction , as a parent , I would want to know if my youngster expose something like this so I could play . So I go into the parent control center to see if that revealing had been observe or flag , and nothing .
I follow up with Qu about this via email , and she say parents should have access to their child ’s chat history .
“ We are adding proactive alerts and they ’re coming soon , ” articulate Qu .
Generally speaking , though , Heeyo ’s chatbot and app seem to offer a healthy digital learning environs for Thomas Kyd that allows them to pursue their interests .
“ The story is n’t about giving lonely kids an AI to be friends with , ” said Qu . “ It ’s more about helping the Thomas Kid learn about what they ’re interested in learning about . We also desire kids to develop interests in sure things , so we use their favorite grapheme to help them work that interest or teach them something in a way that does n’t sense like precept . ”
How Heeyo will make money
While some of the games and experiences are free to start , Heeyo will make its money by sell token for the games . The current price is $ 4.99 for 200 token , $ 9.99 for 500 , and $ 59.99 for 4,000 . Each plot costs around 10 item at the prison term of this writing .
Down the line , Heeyo might pursue monetization opportunities for Divine through a developer ecosystem of sorting . The estimate is that someone could employ their expertness — like in dealing with choler management for kids — to provide content , and Heeyo will use its AI engine to change by reversal that into an experience .
Qu was also the founder of a16z - back start the World , a platform for on-line consequence . She successfully exited the company last twelvemonth when it wasacquired by EventMobi . I asked Qu if she was looking for a standardised exit opportunity with Heeyo . After all , this expect like it ’s justly up Duolingo ’s back street , and that company hasbought upsome learning experience companies lately .
The founder told me she ’s not looking for an exit .
“ I think the mart is big enough for me to do a recollective - term business , and that ’s my finish , ” Qu suppose .
chastisement : A previous rendering of this clause misstate the target long time for Heeyo .
