kids-media
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Maka Kids
Maka Kids is a Detroit-based children's media company building an ad-free, algorithm-free streaming app for kids ages 0 to 6. Founded in 2023 by Isabel Sheinman and Tanyella Leta, the company designs screen time around child well-being rather than engagement. Every piece of content is scored against Maka Imprint, a patent-pending developmental framework built over two years of research with the Yale Child Study Center that maps seven domains of early childhood development across more than 650 indicators. Maka raised $3 million in seed funding led by Michigan Rise in May 2026.
Isabel Sheinman
Isabel Sheinman is the co-founder and CEO of Maka Kids, a Detroit-based children's media company building an ad-free, algorithm-free streaming app for kids ages zero to six that is optimized for child well-being rather than watch-time. Before Maka, she co-founded NABU, a global literacy nonprofit that has put early-grade reading materials in front of more than 15 million children across 26 countries. With a decade spent at the intersection of education, technology, and social impact - and a resume that runs through Georgetown, NYU Stern, and Mastercard - Sheinman is wagering that the most valuable thing a screen can offer a small child is restraint.
Kurt Beidler
Kurt Beidler is the Chief Executive Officer of Quizlet, the AI-powered learning platform used by hundreds of millions of students worldwide. Appointed in July 2024, he brings 17 years of Amazon experience scaling subscription businesses - most notably growing Amazon Kids+ into the world's largest youth-focused subscription service and launching Kindle into China. Under his leadership, Quizlet has grown revenue to $139M annually while aggressively integrating AI tools including a native ChatGPT app integration, lecture recording features, and an OpenAI partnership aimed at keeping students' entire study workflow on one platform.
Gregg Spiridellis
Gregg Spiridellis is an American media and technology entrepreneur who co-founded JibJab with his brother Evan in a Brooklyn garage in 1999, pioneering viral internet video before it was called that. He followed it up with StoryBots, the 11x Emmy Award-winning educational children's franchise acquired by Netflix in 2019. Now back with Spiridellis Bros. Studios, an AI-powered animation company backed by Ashton Kutcher, Tim Ferriss, and Google's AI Futures Fund, he is betting that generative AI is the biggest creative wave yet.