Mattel, best known as the maker of Barbie, Hot Wheels and other iconic toys, is expanding its reach into the tech world with the acquisition of Caribu, an app that allows families to read, draw and play games in an interactive video call.
The news, first published in a trade magazine called The Toy Book, was confirmed in a LinkedIn post by Maxeme Tuchman, Caribu’s co-founder and CEO.
Caribu, which is based in Miami, has raised more than $6 million in funding. Apple named it one of the 15 best apps of 2020, and Time Magazine named it one of the best inventions of 2019.
“Finding the perfect partner that shares your and your company’s values is extremely hard so we at Caribu are incredibly lucky to be joining the Mattel family today to fully realize our vision,” Tuchman wrote in a LinkedIn post.
El Segundo-based Mattel has been creeping into the tech space since at least 2017 when it hired its first CTO.
According to The Toy Book, Caribu fits well within Mattel Future Lab, a tech-focused initiative that launched earlier this year.
The Mattel Future Lab has been toying around in the metaverse, launching several non-fungible token, or NFT, collections around popular toy brands.
Last month, Mattel announced plans to expand its Web3 presence through a partnership with Toekenz Collectibles, which aims to be the first family-focused and kid-safe NFT platform.
