Exclusive: SG kidtech firm bags $2.2m seed round

The myFirst team at CES 2023/ Photo credit: myFirst

Several years ago, co-founders G-Jay Yong and Brian Tan noticed a gap in functional, safe, and fun tech toys for their young children.

In 2018, the duo launched their first product – a children’s camera. Since then, the company has expanded to offer watch phones, headphones, drones, and even a social media network for kids.

Their mission is to help kids aged between three and 12 to “stay connected socially without the usual ills of social media.”

To that end, Singapore-based myFirst has raised US$2.2 million in an oversubscribed seed round joined by tech founders and executives from PatSnap, Google, Rainforest, TNB Aura, and Zopim, among others.

At the heart of myFirst’s tech ecosystem for children is myFirst Circle, which the startup launched at CES 2023.

In an interview with Tech in Asia, Tan describes his company’s social media network as a platform where children don’t focus on “the numbers game of chasing likes.”

“Usual social media have age constraints, lots of ads, and lots of strangers,” Tan says. “MyFirst Circle puts control back in the hands of parents over what children share socially and who can access the content. We balance both the needs and wants of our two customers: parents and kids.”

He explains that the nuclear family forms the basic network unit of myFirst Circle, thus requiring a grown-up to enable to sign up and help classify new contacts for young users. Kids can only interact with pre-approved connections by parents for “freedom of expression within a controlled environment.”

The company adds that myFirst Circle hasn’t been monetized yet. “Revenue and cash flow are important, but the most important thing is user happiness,” Tan explains. “As long as we keep providing what families, parents, and kids need, we know we have a market.”

Instead, the startup’s revenue mainly comes from sales of its devices, ranging from a US$20 digital sketchpad to a US$199 watch phone. These products are available in 24 markets, with the company adding that it has sold over 1 million units worldwide.

MyFirst aims to raise US$5 million for its series A round and is currently focused on expanding across Asia and the US.

Other investors in the seed round include:

• EduSpaze
• Dou Yee International
• Farquhar VC
• Ban Leong Technologies