HoloToyz - inspiring creativity and imagination in children.

by Startacus Admin
The lowdown on HoloToyz, the Irish startup and its products for kids that can come to life through the power of augmented reality.
Toys. They’re all children and grown men want in life. In this digital age, toys have more and more become tablets and phones, and play has become watching YouTube videos. Even if a child whiles away the hours creating worlds in Minecraft, it’s still good for cognitive development to keep a physical aspect to play and creation, even if it’s digitally enhanced.
Irish startup HoloToyz has created a range of products for children that they say “inspires creativity and enhances imagination”, by using augmented reality to bring them to life and add some magic to the child’s play. The startup’s current range of products consists of temporary transfer tattoos, stickers, wall decals, and books.
Using an Android or iOS device and the companion app, you simply point your phone’s camera at the product, and the animal, dinosaur, ghost, monster truck, or whatever it happens to be, will spring to 3D life. Children can watch the unicorn run up and down their arm or the car do doughnuts on the back of their hand, but our favourite is probably the books. As they read through a book, each page will come alive in front of them.
Thanks to a deal with Nickelodeon, HoloToys will soon be releasing interactive products that feature Paw Patrol characters to go along with their own creations. This is a pretty big development for a startup, and will hopefully open further doors to other known brands.
In July, HoloToyz announced that they had raised a huge €1 million in funding in a round led by Irish tech veteran John Herlihy and Brian Caulfield, of Molten Ventures’, both of whom were also early investors in the startup. This came with participation from Shipyard Technologies, Shalena O’Connell of MongoDB, Movidius co-founder Sean Mitchell, and multiple investors via the HBAN Angels network.
Enterprise Ireland has also previously supported the startup through its High Potential Startup programme. This funding will go towards alleviating admin strain by hiring new staff, and of course to furthering their range of holographic products and other toys.
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Published on: 3rd August 2022
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