Irmak Atabek has spent her career in children’s media, and that background shapes how she approaches artificial intelligence. Before KidsAI, she co-founded Mako Kids, an education and children’s content company, with business partner Evren Yiğit, and was selected for the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women class of 2022. In 2024 the pair launched KidsAI, which Atabek leads as Founder and CEO. She moved to Dubai after KidsAI was selected for the AI Campus at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Her starting point is simple: children already meet AI daily through games, videos and search tools, yet many parents are unaware of the risks. KidsAI exists to close that gap.
The company describes itself as a child-first technology and media company. Its Olii assistant is built to help children think, plan and create, and it has received kidSAFE certification; KidsAI says it collects no personal data from children. Alongside it sits Project Olii, an animated series for ages six to nine that introduces AI concepts through story, and KidsAI4Schools, a technology education programme offering AI literacy and teacher training.
What sets this AI startup apart is its emphasis on understanding over usage. A child can learn to type prompts in minutes; knowing what a machine is, where its answers come from and when to question them takes longer. Atabek has been direct on this point: “AI is not magic, and children should know that.” KidsAI’s design principles, including transparency and a refusal to let AI pretend to be human, reflect that view of responsible AI.
As an AI founder and one of the women in technology shaping AI education in the region, Atabek is working on a question every parent and educator now faces about children and AI. The children growing up with AI deserve to understand it, not just use it.
