Not your average tech company

Built with families, built in Tandem with partners.

Tandem is built by researchers, clinicians and parents who would rather learn with families than build for them. We test in real homes, wards and waiting rooms, and we share what we’re learning so others can build better early years technology too.

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We care about impact, not just subscriptions.

That’s why we collaborate with hospitals, libraries, prisons and community organisations – places where stories can change how a child feels about themselves, their family and their future.

We believe that young children need more bold, thoughtful innovation – and that no single company will crack it alone. So we’re pro‑collaboration, not cut‑throat competition. If you’re working on better tech for little humans, we’d love to cheer you on, learn together and, where it helps families, team up.

Trusted By

Stories of collaboration

These are some of the partnerships helping us shape Tandem.

Nesta
1

Nesta – imagining the future of shared reading

With Nesta’s Fairer Start Mission, we used our very first prototype to explore a simple but important question: what role could AI play in helping more families read together?

Together we:

  • Tested how personalised stories might help with barriers like time, cost, language and reading confidence.
  • Asked what “good” looks like when AI is involved in something as human as bedtime stories.
  • Listened to parents from different backgrounds about what would actually make shared reading easier for them.

This work helped set our direction: tech should make it easier to curl up with a story, not harder.

Read more on our TechTots blog and on Nesta’s website

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital / Charity
2

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital – making hospital a little less scary

Hospitals can be overwhelming for children and their families. With Alder Hey Charity and Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, we’re asking: can stories make coming to, or being in, hospital feel a little less scary and maybe even have a positive impact once you get home?

Together we’re exploring ways Tandem can:

  • Turn upcoming procedures or treatments into gentle, personalised stories children can understand.
  • Help children put words, and stories, to big feelings 
  • Give parents and carers a simple “way in” to talk about what might happen before, during and after a visit.

Our hope is that, for at least some children, hospital becomes a place of courage and connection – not just fear.

Moorfields Eye Hospital
3

Moorfields Eye Hospital – stories kids with visual impairments can actually read

Most children’s books are made for children with typical vision. The few specialist books that do exist are often expensive and limited. Working with Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, and with children and parents themselves, we’re exploring what an unlimited, truly accessible story library could look like.

Together we’re:

  • Co‑designing stories that help children understand more about their eyes and their care.
  • Creating high‑contrast and adapted imagery that works better for different kinds of sight difficulties.
  • Testing formats so that children can access stories in the ways that suit them best.

The goal: a world where children with visual impairments aren’t left off the bookshelf.

Oxford Edge, BabyZone & University of Oxford
4

Oxford Edge, BabyZone & University of Oxford – sparking new early years ideas

In November 2025 we helped co‑produce, co‑convene and judge an early years technology hackathon in Oxford with Oxford Edge, BabyZone and the University of Oxford.

The mission? Get brilliant people in a room to dream up smarter, kinder tech for babies, toddlers and the grown-ups who love them.

Tandem Co-founder, Rob, joined the judging panel, listening to ideas that spanned playful AI, parent support and new ways to measure impact. For us, this work is as much about growing the ecosystem as it is about Tandem – the more good ideas in early years tech, the better for families everywhere.

Award winning.

We’re still at the start of our journey, but we’re proud to have been recognised for the way we’re trying to do things:

Coming next...

We’re always spinning up new collaborations. A few we’re especially excited about:

Tandem goes to the library

We’ve agreed our first library collaboration, where families will be able to:

  • Use Tandem in the library to create their own personalised books.
  • See those stories appear on both the digital shelf and as printed copies in the children’s section.
  • See those stories appear on both the digital shelf and as printed copies in the children’s section.

Full announcement coming early 2026.

Staying close through the prison system

We’re working with partners in the criminal justice system to explore how Tandem might support children with a parent in prison.

The questions we’re asking include:

  • Can shared stories help children make sense of what’s happening in ways that feel safe and age‑appropriate?
  • Might story‑making together – during visits or by post – help keep precious relationships alive?
  • How do we ensure we’re led by what children, parents and caregivers tell us they actually need?

This is sensitive, complex work – and we’re approaching it slowly, with care and with the right experts around the table.