JoRi — screen-free storytelling for children

JoRi

Screen addiction is an epidemic threatening the next generation.
JoRi is a screen-free educational alternative that works in any language.

Child listening to a JoRi story Figurines used with JoRi JoRi device close-up JoRi being built and tested Hands placing a figurine on JoRi Workshop bench during development Prototype circuit boards

how it works

JoRi is a screen-free interactive storytelling device. The child picks a favourite hero, an object and a place, puts the three figurines on JoRi, and hears a story built around that combination — hundreds of possible stories, each one chosen by the child. Thanks to AI, the stories are age-appropriate and follow what the child is actually interested in.

The JoRi device with hero, object and location figurines, and the story and play controls
JoRi companion app — weekly summary JoRi companion app — weekly topics JoRi companion app — vocabulary

JoRi comes with a companion app. Parents can see what their child has been listening to, follow how their vocabulary is developing over time, and steer the themes, the difficulty and the languages the stories draw on.

what we achieved

4

Generations of working prototypes

15

Families tested with, in France and the Netherlands

4

Partnerships with screen-free advocacy associations

200+

Stories and songs produced and reviewed

Child playing with JoRi Child playing with JoRi Child playing with JoRi Child playing with JoRi Child playing with JoRi Child playing with JoRi

who built jori

Dmitrii Maksimishin

Dmitrii Maksimishin

Dmitrii graduated from École Polytechnique in 2019 (X2015) and spent six years at Accuracy, a financial advisory firm, rising to Manager and specialising in financial modelling. In 2025 he left to co-found JoRi, where he led the company's structuring, unit economics and hardware cost analysis, the content strategy, and the pre-seed fundraising process.

Aleksandr Nagaev

Aleksandr Nagaev

Aleksandr graduated from École Polytechnique in 2021 (X2018) and spent four years at Wanna, an AR and 3D technology startup within the Farfetch group, working on machine learning for motion tracking, object detection and image segmentation. In 2025 he left to co-found JoRi, where he built the hardware prototypes and the story generation pipeline.

jori today

JoRi ended in 2026. The financing round did not close, and we chose to stop there rather than continue on insufficient capital. Everything on this page was built between 2025 and 2026. Nothing here is for sale.

The prototypes, the content pipeline and the test findings all still exist. If you are working on something in this space, or simply curious about what we learned, get in touch.

dmitrii.maksimishin@gmail.com