9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Pok Pok
By design, online games get kids hooked on hyperstimulation: a "continuous stream of music, annoying voices that say 'good job,' and here's a reward and a sparkling unicorn on top," says Esther Huybreghts, co-founder and chief creative officer of Pok Pok. The Toronto-based startup's app, which the company describes as 'non-addictive' and inspired by Montessori, is quieter, providing children aged 2 to 8 with an unstructured, ungamified digital 'playroom,' where kids can freely explore different fun settings. Downloaded more than one million times globally in 2024, Pok Pok designs app play spaces with support from a roster of experts; astronaut and mom Kellie Gerardi helped with a new one released in January called Space, for instance. "The kids' digital landscape was 90% candy when we arrived," says co-founder and CEO Melissa Cash. "We just want to bring some nutrients." In the last year, Pok Pok grew its subscriber base ninefold while making the app now available on Android and Amazon Fire devices.
