Roald Dahl Estate partners with audio player start-up

Roald Dahl Literary Estate is joining forces with a new crowd-funded audio player for children, Yoto.

The strategic content partnership has been announced weeks after the start-up launched its Kickstarter campaign to develop its branded players. It has already won more than £27,000 of funding on the platform.

Yoto was developed by four entrepreneurs from the worlds of music, technology, design and marketing to “maximise kids’ development skills without screen-time, by building and integrating specialist technology and content”. It gives children access to a “curated world of music, stories and learning via interactive cards which connect to a safe, secure world of audio content”.

The company, which reached its crowdfunding target of £20k five days after launching on 1st November, will work with Dahl’s stories and characters to “create audio story experiences and interactive picture displays that will engage and stretch young imaginations”.

The estate recently partnered with another start-up, personalised children’s publisher Wonderbly, on a new edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, to celebrate Roald Dahl Day on 13th September .

Luke Kelly, m.d of the Roald Dahl Literary Estate and Roald Dahl’s grandson, described Yoto as a “visionary platform”. He said: “We share Yoto’s vision that all children deserve stories – and that technology, used in the right way, can unlock imaginations and help children to grow. Yoto is a visionary platform and we are excited to use Roald Dahl‘s timeless stories to enrich their offer.”

Yoto’s c.e.o. Ben Drury said the company was “thrilled” to be working with the author’s estate. He said: “Tech is a part of all of our lives, which is why we’ve created a product especially for kids which uses technology in the right way. But stories make imaginations grow, and to be able to draw on the incredibly rich story-world of Roald Dahl is a (BFG’s) dream come true.”

For a pledge of £109 on the Kickstarter website, the company will send a Yoto player with a 'Cards Starter Pack' featuring music and story cards; interactive cards for learning; connected cards that stream live radio and updated podcasts; as well as a set of blank 'Make Your Own' cards that people can use to upload their own playlist, or record their own stories, with an estimated delivery of June. The campaign will run until 5th December.