Kuddle, a Norwegian picture sharing app designed for children, plans to launch a child safe tablet with Microsoft on Dec 1, and expects to sign funding deals with several venture capital firms within weeks, its chief executive said on Monday.
The Oslo-based company said it was on track to reach its goal of one million users by year-end and plans to soon raise another $5 million of fresh funds on top of the nearly $6 million it has already raised.
"We are working with Microsoft on several child safe devices which will be sold on our online store," Chief Executive Ole Vidar Hestaas said. "The first device will be an Ipad Mini sized tablet prized under $100 that will be ready ahead of the Kuddle Store launch."
"This is a child friendly device and it is not possible to download games like GTA (Grand Theft Auto) or apps like Snapchat," Hestaas said.
Kuddle, which bills itself as a rival to Instagram, lets parents monitor what their children publish and keeps access to content restricted, preventing strangers from seeing and sharing pictures. There are no hashtags or comments to prevent online bullying and "likes" are anonymous.
Hestaas said the company also is in talks with Samsung and Microsoft's Nokia phones unit on similar cooperation, and that it was also working on deals with European telecoms operators Telenor and Vodafone for child safe Kuddle SIM cards to be sold separately or linked up to one of its devices.
The app, which has a target of 1 million users by the end of 2014, is now available in 7 languages. The most significant growth has recently come from Brazil and the US.
Hestaas said he expects to conclude funding deals with several major international venture capital funds within weeks.
The firm's present investors include Norwegian golf ace Suzann Pettersen.
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