Our story
Every parent has had
this moment.
You hand your kid a device just for a few minutes. You come back twenty minutes later. They are not on the learning app anymore. They are somewhere else entirely, eyes glazed, thumb scrolling.
I have had that moment too.
Why me
I know how the attention economy is wired.
I spent two decades in tech. Six years at Goldman Sachs, seven years at Meta working across New York, India, Southeast Asia and ANZ. I know exactly how the attention economy is wired, what these platforms are optimised for and why your six-year-old cannot put the iPad down. And knowing that made it difficult to just keep accepting it.
Every time I see young kids on adult smart devices, I have the same thought: there has to be something better than this. Something actually designed for a child, not borrowed from the adult world and handed down with a cartoon skin slapped on top.
So I decided to build that “something better”.
20
years
Building technology
06
years
Goldman Sachs
07
years
Meta
04
regions
New York, India, Southeast Asia, ANZ
The opportunity
AI is changing everything. Except this.
AI is everywhere. Every industry is being transformed by it. And yet, nobody seems to be seriously asking: what can AI do for a four-year-old?
AI, done thoughtfully, is genuinely extraordinary for young children. It can adapt to how a specific child learns, their pace, their interests, their quirks, in a way no mass-produced toy or app ever could.
It can answer the bizarre, relentless, wonderful questions kids ask at 7am without missing a beat. It can make learning feel like play and play feel like discovery. It can give a child the experience of being genuinely heard and responded to, in a way that sparks more curiosity rather than switching their brain off.
The key word is ‘thoughtful’.
Because AI can also be addictive, manipulative and deeply unsuitable for young minds if it is designed without them in mind. The difference is entirely in the intent of the people building it.
The window
Because these years are irreversible.
Between ages 3 and 8, the brain is very receptive. It is when foundational habits, mindsets and a child's relationship with learning are established, things that genuinely tend to stick.
Whether learning feels like curiosity or like a chore. All of it is being shaped during these years.
What children interact with during this window matters enormously. And right now, most of what they are interacting with was built for someone way older than them, with none of their developmental needs in mind. That is the problem ADIIVA is built to solve.
What is in a name
This part was the easiest decision. Adi is my eight-year-old. Avi is my six-year-old. I was building for them, so why not just use their names? ADI plus IVA, with a little creative licence on Avi.
Two boys, one mission.
Every device we build is tested by our in-house testing team.
The product
Purpose-built hardware.
AI-powered hardware learning devices, designed specifically for children aged 3 to 8. Real hardware. Real intent.
A tablet with stickers on it
An AI companion that is always available and never says no
Another content platform dressed up as education
We are not trying to build something that does everything. We are deliberately building specific bounded experiences, ones where we are confident of what will happen and equally confident of what will not. That means designing our own guardrails from scratch, not borrowing someone else's. It means saying no to features that are impressive but unpredictable. And it means being honest that with young children, the cost of getting it wrong is too high to move fast and figure it out later.
The goal is not to use AI because we can. It is to use AI only where it genuinely serves a child's development, and to be very clear-eyed about where it should not go near one.
Our devices help kids learn, create and explore, safely and independently. They fuel imagination and curiosity. And they know where their job ends, because replacing the human connections that shape childhood is not what we are here to do.
Our philosophy
Colour outsidethe lines
We inspire children to stretch beyond the familiar, to try new experiences, ask more questions, embrace the uncomfortable and discover what they are truly capable of. Because when young minds break the pattern and think differently, they do not just grow. They innovate.
Real learning does not happen by following the crowd. It happens through curiosity, experimentation, creativity and the courage to think independently. In a world that rewards conformity, we champion individuality.
The next generation of thinkers, creators and leaders will not be shaped by staying inside the lines. They will be shaped by having the courage to go beyond them.
The hard way
Yes, hardware is hard. We are doing it anyway.
We hear it constantly: build an app instead, distribution is easier. They are not wrong.
Hardware is complex, capital-intensive and full of obstacles that software never has to face: child-safe electronics, supply chains, safety certifications, quality control at scale. Every step of this is harder than the alternative.
But the easy alternative, another app, another screen, is part of the very problem we are trying to solve. When it comes to the early years of a child's life, doing what is right has to outweigh doing what is easy.
My children deserve more than hand-me-down adult technology. So do yours.
That is why we are building ADIIVA.
Kalika Vajpayee