#022: How Two Dads Thoughtfully Scaled Yoto Into One of the Fastest Growing Kid Tech Brands

Coredump Sessions · 13 May 2026 · 59m · Episode 22

AI in practice: one real use of AI described

What this episode covers

Yoto co-founders Ben Drury and Filip Denker explain how they scaled their screen-free audio player for kids from a garage prototype to a global brand, balancing hardware durability, content licensing, and regulatory compliance. They discuss the evolution from Raspberry Pi prototypes to custom ESP32 hardware, the challenges of Wi-Fi connectivity and captive portals, and how they use fleet observability to manage millions of devices in the field. The conversation also covers Yoto's developer program, which allows community members to build interactive audio experiences, and their strategic use of AI for compliance and content generation while maintaining transparency.

AI in practice

Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.

Engineering & simulationClaudereview time from weeks to hours

The team used Claude to analyze and summarize complex, monolithic regulatory documents, reducing the time required to decipher compliance standards from weeks to hours.

“AI has been really helpful and we're all kind of obsessed with Claude. Some of the standards you have to buy and they're really expensive and they are these like monolithic, massive documents that takes like a whole team of researchers to decipher.”

Speaker 1 · Hear it at 0:44

Mentioned

Companies
Memfault, Dyson, Pebble, 11 Labs, Open AI
Products
Yoto, Harry Potter, PAW Patrol, Peppa Pig, The Beatles, Queen, Elton John, Claude
Chips
Raspberry Pi, ESP32

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Product Startup · 32m

    085: Scaling Your Product Up After Crowdfunding

    Ben Drury, founder of Yoto Play, explains how the company used a Kickstarter campaign to validate demand and raise $17 million in Series A funding. Drury details the transition from a Raspberry Pi Zero W-based prototype to a scalable product, leveraging early user feedback to refine the hardware and software. He emphasizes treating the initial 750-unit run as a stepping stone to gather data, attract investment, and build a community, rather than focusing on immediate profitability. The episode highlights the importance of unit economics, subscription revenue from Yoto Cards, and maintaining strong customer relationships during scaling.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 22m

    An Interview with Zach Dunham

    Zach Dunham, an outreach lead at Kickstarter, discusses his experience building and crowdfunding 'The Public Radio,' a single-station FM device that utilized a mason jar enclosure and a Raspberry Pi for testing. He details the challenges of scaling from garage assembly to 2,500 units, the critical role of US-based contract manufacturer Worthington Assembly for DFM feedback, and debugging Class D amplifier noise with help from Todd Bailey. Dunham also outlines Kickstarter's new Hardware Studio initiative, a partnership with Avnet and Dragon Innovation designed to help creators navigate manufacturing and supply chain complexities before launching.

  • Over the Air · 32m

    Building a Connected Musical Instrument with Rafael Atijas of Loog Guitars

    Rafael Atijas, Founder and CEO of Loog Guitars, explains how the company evolved from a Kickstarter-funded 3-string guitar for kids into a broader educational platform. He details the product design choice of using three strings to accommodate small hands and the strategic decision to target parents as the primary customer while keeping the experience engaging for children. Atijas discusses the company's pricing and wholesale challenges, the use of audio-recognition technology in their companion app instead of Bluetooth, and their upcoming expansion into pianos and storytelling-based content.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 21m

    Can AI Design IoT Hardware? | Flux's Matthias Wagner | Internet of Things Podcast

    Matthias Wagner, Founder and CEO of Flux, explains how his company uses agentic AI to democratize PCB design, allowing non-engineers to create hardware via natural language prompts. He discusses the historical bottlenecks of hardware design, the necessity of iterative back-and-forth for complex devices like smartphones, and the economic advantages of designing custom boards for products like vending machines. Wagner also outlines future integration challenges, including firmware generation and enclosure design, and predicts that lowering the cost of iteration will unlock significant innovation in robotics and IoT.

  • TRADEOFFS · 58m

    T-24-002 : Kevin Lavelle - Performance Fabric to Pediatric Telemedicine

    Kevin Lavelle, founder of Mizzen and Main and Harbor, discusses the transition from scaling a US-made performance fabric apparel brand to building Harbor, a pediatric telemedicine company. He details the technical trade-offs of designing a failsafe baby monitor with a dedicated tablet and camera that connects to the cloud, emphasizing the decision to avoid smartphone app dependency due to reliability concerns. Lavelle explains the strategic choice to manufacture hardware in Southeast Asia rather than the US, citing the inability of domestic supply chains to support volume, and outlines a 2-year membership model to ensure recurring revenue. He also reflects on the difficulties of fundraising for hardware in the current climate and the importance of building a distributed, high-caliber engineering team.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Coredump Sessions. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.