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§ Private Profile · Seattle, WA, USA
Telephone club for kids to chat voice-to-voice without smartphones.
Tin Can develops a screen-free communication device for children, offering a safe alternative to smartphones. This retro-inspired phone facilitates voice-to-voice conversations exclusively with parent-approved contacts, enabling young users to connect independently without internet access or applications. The core product delivers secure, simplified communication tailored for the pre-smartphone demographic.
The company was founded by Kittleson, Max Blumen, and Graeme Davies. Their insight stemmed from the need for children to communicate with family and friends independently, while meticulously avoiding smart device distractions and risks. This led them to create a secure, simple communication tool, reimagining the traditional landline for families.
Tin Can primarily serves families seeking balanced communication for their children. The product empowers kids to foster social connections and independence, with parents maintaining oversight and limiting screen exposure. The company aims to help children develop essential conversational skills in a secure environment, promoting focused, intentional interactions.
Tin Can has raised $21.5M across 4 funding rounds.
Tin Can has raised $21.5M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Tin Can has raised $21.5M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $12.0M Seed in December 2025.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 2025 | $12M Seed | Mike Duboe | — | Announced |
| Sep 16, 2025 | $3.5M Venture Round | — | Mother Ventures, Newfund, Greg Gottesman, Solid Foundations | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2025 | $4M Seed | — | Victor Noguera, Pioneer Square Labs, Evan Moore | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2022 | $2M Seed | — | Altair Capital Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Antler, Victor Noguera, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund), Foundamental, Fuel Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Iterative, Madrona Venture Group, Pioneer Square Labs, Polygon Labs, Uncorrelated Ventures, Balaji Srinivasan, Evan Moore, Prashant Malik, Surojit Chatterjee, Tony Jamous, Will Martin | Announced |
Tin Can is an early-stage direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup building a screen-free, Wi-Fi-enabled landline-style phone designed specifically for kids, allowing voice-only calls to friends and family via a secure, parent-controlled network.[1][2][3] It serves millennial parents seeking to foster their children's social independence without smartphone distractions like texting, games, or internet access, solving the problem of excessive screen time and online risks highlighted in concepts like "The Anxious Generation."[1][4] The product includes customizable security settings through a parents-only companion app and operates on a firewalled member network, with beta testing underway among a couple hundred families across ~15 U.S. states; growth momentum is strong, evidenced by word-of-mouth adoption, a large waitlist, Greylock investment, and a recent $12M funding round to scale production amid soaring demand.[2][4][5]
Tin Can was founded by parents Chet Kittleson (CEO), Max Blumen, and Graeme Davies, who started as a side project because they couldn't find a suitable phone for their own kids—something simple for calling friends without screens or full internet access.[3][4] The idea emerged from a desire to recreate the "magic" of classic landlines in a modern, Wi-Fi-enabled form, beginning with a quick prototype tested in their neighborhood that quickly gained traction through word-of-mouth as kids across the country began using it.[2][3] Pivotal early moments included rapid prototyping, real-world family feedback that lit up kids and reassured parents, a larger-than-expected waitlist, and Greylock's investment recognizing its potential as a "new childhood social graph."[2][4] By mid-2025, they partnered with Saltbox for fulfillment and planned a hard launch for summer 2025, evolving from a basic idea to a branded product with custom handsets, app, and demo video.[1][2]
Tin Can rides the wave of parental backlash against smartphone-induced anxiety, addiction, and social isolation in kids, aligning with cultural shifts like Jonathan Haidt's *The Anxious Generation* and demand for "better technology" that strengthens real-world relationships rather than competing with them.[1][4] Timing is ideal amid rising awareness of youth mental health crises and regulations on kids' tech, with market forces like millennial nostalgia (90s vibes) and D2C scalability favoring simple, analog-feeling hardware.[1][2] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering "constrained tech" as infrastructure—a kid-safe network that could enable future voice-based experiences—challenging Big Tech's engagement-maximizing models and inspiring alternatives in child-focused hardware.[4]
Tin Can is poised to expand from beta to mass-market with its $12M funding fueling manufacturing scale-up, network growth to millions of users, and resolutions to supply chain hurdles, potentially dominating the kid-phone niche as adoption clusters accelerate.[2][5] Trends like analog tech revival, stricter child privacy laws, and demand for distraction-free tools will propel it, evolving from a calling device to a full social platform while staying true to screen-free roots. Its influence could redefine childhood connectivity, proving tech can enable independence without exploitation—turning the landline into tomorrow's essential network and offering parents the antidote they crave.[4]
Tin Can has raised $21.5M in total across 4 funding rounds.
Tin Can's investors include Mike Duboe, Mother Ventures, Newfund, Greg Gottesman, Solid Foundations, Victor Noguera, Pioneer Square Labs, Evan Moore, Altair Capital Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Antler, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund).