Company Performance Metrics
Chirp is a child-protection programme that makes internet use safe for children by examining all data that enters and leaves the device. Chirp is an early stage deep-tech startup developing embedded child-protection software for smartphones that detects and blocks cyberbullying, grooming and suicide/self-harm content in messaging apps,
including encrypted messages. The company was founded in 2018 and has since been developing a world-class management team and board of advisors; building relationships with global child-protection stakeholders; engaging with customers and securing partnerships with world-renowned experts in child-protection; and bringing the Chirp solution to prototype stage to attract the requisite funding to fully develop its market-ready solution. Chirp has bootstrapped its way to developing its prototype which demonstrates its solution filtering encrypted Whatsapp messages. In 2022, the company was awarded the highly competitive Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund which is a €2.8M non-dilutive grant towards the R&D costs of developing the Chirp solution. In May 2023, Chirp raised a record-breaking first raise of €1.67M from private investors in co-funding. Seeing a gap in the market for a product that helps parents to protect their children from harmful messages, particularly in encrypted apps, Chirp founder Rena Maycock came up with the game changing idea of a filter at kernel level on the operating system of a smartphone/device and has worked tirelessly to make this innovative technology a reality. Chirp has put together a world class team of technical and other experts to achieve the company's goal to protect children online on a global scale. There is a huge gap in the market for this technology which will work to detect and block harmful content at kernel level, that is at the central part of the operating system of the device, above the application layer (apps). Current parental control apps are far from effective at protecting children online - the current technologically limited solutions available to parents cannot detect/block user-generated content within messaging apps which is how children can be cyberbullied and groomed. Smartphones marketed as firstphones for kids collect technologies that are available on apps, they do not filter at an OS level and are therefore at the same technical level as any parental control app. Given the extremely worrying trends that society is experiencing in the areas of cyberbullying, grooming and cybercrime, particularly as they pertain to young people, Chirp will offer a comprehensive and robust solution.
