In the playrooms and nurseries across India, a quiet revolution is brewing, one that promises to transform the landscape of childhood learning and play. As the global smart toy market springs to life, at $18B in 2024, projected to exceed $60B in the 2030s, a gaping void exists in the realm of educational, screen-free smart toys.
MyWonder is a startup that is stepping up to address this challenge by not just thinking outside the box, but completely reimagining what that box could be.
The brainchild of parents themselves, and repeat entrepreneurs Chandramouli and Venkat Potluri, MyWonder has launched an AI-native, screen-free learning companion imbued with conversational abilities, serving engaging and educational content for the crucial 3-10 age group. It's a potential game-changer in how our children across the world learn, play, and interact with technology. Here is their story and why we chose to back the duo.
MyWonder’s Origins And The Founders’ Quest To Build Their Children A Screen-Free Companion
The story of MyWonder began not in a lab or a startup studio, but in the living rooms of two parents, Chandramouli K and Venkat Potluri, who found themselves grappling with a universal modern dilemma: how to keep their young children engaged & learning without handing them a screen.
As parents themselves, they observed how the youngest members of Gen Alpha and Gen Beta are growing up surrounded by technology, yet increasingly disconnected from unstructured imagination and discovery. They asked a simple but powerful question:
“What if technology could feel less like a distraction — and more like a companion?”
Having spent years building products that blend technology with human behaviour — Chandramouli at Amazon Kindle, RedBus, and SuperRep.AI, and Venkat at Flipkart, Think9, and ZestMoney — they recognised the untapped potential of AI-native play systems.
The result was the first version of what would become MyWonder: a screen-free, conversational audio companion that speaks, listens, and grows with a child.
MyWonder at Antler Residency
The journey from idea to product took shape inside Antler India’s Residency. What began as an exploration into “AI for families” quickly evolved into a clear insight: parents everywhere were struggling to balance healthy play, learning, and digital wellbeing. Through conversations with over 300 parents, the team discovered that what parents valued most wasn’t just content, it was safe, independent, and meaningful play. Children wanted freedom to explore, parents wanted peace of mind.
This insight led the founders to design the first version of WonderPod within 2 months, a beautifully crafted, voice-enabled audio device paired with intelligent figurines — each unlocking interactive stories, music, games, and lessons. Unlike traditional toys or edtech apps, WonderPod learns from each interaction, adapting to a child’s interests and growth journey.
By combining conversational AI, developmental research, and joyful design, MyWonder emerged as a new category altogether — part toy, part learning platform, and part companion.
Chandramouli speaks of his time at Antler with a mix of gratitude and excitement. "Antler gave us the space to not just dream, but to stress-test those dreams," he reflects. "It was a place where we could bounce ideas off like-minded entrepreneurs, receive constructive criticism, and refine our vision."
Backing The Future of Play With MyWonder
MyWonder is tackling a thorny issue that's been pricking cash-rich time-poor parents for years: how to serve up educational, captivating experiences for kids without resorting to the hypnotic glow of screens. MyWonder’s three key ingredients help address this:
- A Conversational AI layer that learns and adapts to each child's daily interactions, creating a personalized learning experience that grows with the child.
- Educational content that is fun, courtesy of partnerships with renowned content studios, ensures a rich and varied learning experience.
- A parent-friendly app for behind-the-scenes monitoring and learning customization, allowing parents to stay involved in their child's development without hovering over their shoulder.
Antler's decision was driven by a combination of factors:
- A Significant Market Opportunity: The smart toy sector is growing rapidly, and Wonder is perfectly positioned to capture a significant share, especially in the underserved Indian market.
- A Strong Founding Team: Chandramouli and Venkat bring a potent mix of consumer product experience and AI expertise to the table, crucial for navigating the complex world of smart toys.
- Scalability and Future Potential: The vision of creating an ecosystem of products that grow with the child presents exciting possibilities for expansion and long-term value creation.
From Rajiv Srivatsa, Founding Partner at Antler India: “Chandramouli and Venkat are reimagining how children learn and play at home. With deep care for kids and parents, they’ve built a screen-free, AI-powered product that makes learning playful and personalized, while keeping parents closely involved. As their first backers, we’re proud to support their mission to transform out-of-school learning globally.”
Out Of Stealth: Current Traction and Future Horizons
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Over the past year, MyWonder has iterated and experimented with four different versions of the Pod and has now announced its official launch . The team is also part of the latest cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First in India.
The company has set ambitious targets of reaching 100,000 units in its first year and achieving 1% market penetration within 18 months, translating to USD 4.5 million in projected revenues.
The novelty of talking characters and voice games that are adaptive, personal and safe for children has seen great success. The company’s beta program revealed strong traction, with 60% of children active three times a week, a median daily engagement of 81 minutes, and nearly half crossing four hours on peak days. To further build distribution and credibility, MyWonder is working with a leading Bengaluru school chain (7,000 students) to pilot a Screen-Free Digital Tutor with scope to integrate into Google Classroom. It has also secured publishing partnerships with India’s leading publishers like Hachette India and international licensing deals for children’s non-fiction and interactive audio content from the US and UK. Pre-schools will serve as experience centers, enabling parents and children to try the device firsthand.
On the markets to start with and potentially capture, Chandramouli K and Venkat Potluri: “India is not just a testbed—it’s one of the biggest opportunities in the world, with over 30 million children born every year. Rising incomes, demand for screen-free solutions make India the perfect launch market. While we begin here, our product is built for global scale.”
Looking ahead, MyWonder wants to be the leader in the early edutainment space and be a constant companion for children as they navigate childhood.
There is also significant potential to alleviate resource problems at millions of Indian childcare centers. MyWonder’s product could make it possible to address the gap in teaching resources and help complement teachers in a rural setting.
In a world where the debate over screen time and early childhood development rages on, MyWonder offers a new ground—a way to embrace technology's benefits while mitigating its drawbacks. As the company moves forward, refining its product and expanding its reach, it has the potential to not just capture a share of the market but to reshape the market itself.
About Antler India
Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm backing the world’s most driven founders from day zero. In India, we’ve invested in over 100 companies across sectors like consumer technology, AI, fintech, and healthtech — helping founders transform bold ideas into global companies.
For all press enquiries: press@antler.co
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