Startup Profile
Daidream

Introduce yourselves

Tell us in three sentences who you are

Daidream is an EdTech start-up that has set itself the goal of redesigning digital childhood – with healthy, creative and interactive screen time. Through the Mello app, Daidream offers children access to diverse, educationally valuable content relating to education, mental health, creativity and personal growth.
Children not only experience content passively, but actively shape it – through personalised stories, creative tasks and the support of an AI-based learning assistant that explains knowledge in a child-friendly way. To further strengthen the educational impact, Mello is already working with well-known IPs such as The Smurfs and WWF to bring topics such as environmental protection, nature appreciation and reading promotion to families in a playful way.

How did you come up with the idea of combining gaming, literature and personal expression?

The idea of combining gaming, literature and personal forms of expression arose directly from our everyday lives – because we in the founding team are parents of seven children together. We have been observing with concern for years how the entertainment industry has changed: Content is getting faster, louder, more superficial – and the negative effects on children from passive screen time are measurably increasing.

As we are convinced that screen time will not disappear, we have decided to rethink it: interactive, creative and meaningful. With Mello, we are creating a digital space that not only consumes, but also invites users to co-create – through stories, game elements and tools for personal expression. Our aim is to create an environment that encourages curiosity, imagination and personal development – instead of suppressing them.

What are your biggest challenges?

1. growth vs. responsibility: We want to scale quickly without compromising our content and ethical standards – trust is crucial, especially when dealing with children.

2. distribution access & educational partnerships: Many families are looking for alternatives to YouTube & Co. but access to them is fragmented. Building strong partnerships with schools, brands and platforms is crucial but complex.

3. technological balancing act: We are working at the intersection of AI, storytelling and child-friendly interaction. We have to reconcile innovation with security, data protection and accessibility for young users – this is challenging in terms of both technology and content.

How does AI support this project?

Mello wouldn’t be Mello without AI. Artificial intelligence is a central part of our project – it allows us to offer children a safe sandbox experience where they can create their own stories and become authors themselves. At the same time, AI makes our digital companion ‘Mello Explain’ possible – an empathetic, charming learning assistant that explains knowledge in a child-friendly way and promotes genuine interest in understanding.

But AI also plays a crucial role behind the scenes: in our internal publishing process, where we develop content like a ‘Netflix for kids’ from scratch, AI works together with human creativity to create real magic – be it in writing, illustration or sound. We are a high-tech publishing house with heart, where ‘human-in-the-loop’ is more than just a principle – it’s our promise of quality.

Can you tell us more about your flagship product Mello? How does the personalised reading experience for children work?

Our flagship product Mello is more than a classic reading app – it’s a digital home for healthy, creative and interactive screen time. The personalised reading experience is based on three central pillars:

✨ 1. creativity – the sandbox

In the Mello Sandbox, children become active themselves: they can write their own stories, choose illustrations, invent characters and create entire adventures. In this way, we not only promote reading skills, but also self-expression, imagination and a feeling for language – in a very playful way.

📚 2. edutainment – Netflix for children, but without video

Mello offers curated content that combines entertainment and education in a meaningful way. Whether it’s the environment, feelings, mindfulness or adventure – children discover child-orientated stories, audio books and interactive content that is geared towards their age and interests. Everything is 100% ad-free, calm in design and geared towards mental health.

🧠 3. interaction – Mello Explain

Our AI-based assistant character ‘Mello Explain’ is like a cross between a ‘What’s What’ book and Siri. Children can ask questions, look up words or receive summaries – in a child-friendly, empathetic and understandable way. This turns every reading experience into a personalised learning moment.

If you had one wish: What would you wish for your startup?

In just 18 months, our team has proven that it has exactly the right setup to realise big visions. We have built a complete platform for iOS and Android, developed probably the most efficient publishing process in the world, produced over 100 hours of content in four languages and convinced strong partners such as airports, mobility providers and major brands to become part of the healthy screen time movement.

Our wish is therefore very simple: that Mello finds its place in the world – supported by the right people, supporters and networks to scale this impact to millions of families worldwide. Because what comes from heart and attitude is here to stay.