01Technology & hardware
Quiet technology
Connected objects, embedded systems and AI tools that fit into daily life instead of competing for attention. Private and local-first by design, made to last and to be repaired.
Indus Ventures · Innovation lab
Where technology, art and learning flow together.
We are an independent innovation lab. We imagine, build and grow products at the intersection of art and technology, for learning, play and stories, made with and for the places where most of the world’s families live.
Berlin, the Spree and the TV tower at dusk · Photo: abbilder, CC BY 2.0
01 Our focus
Four areas, one lab.
Our best ideas come from where these areas overlap: a toy that teaches, a story that lives in an object, a device that speaks your language.
01
02Learning & play
Learning that feels like play
New ways for children and families to learn: through voice, stories, objects and hands-on play. Less screen time, more imagination, and room for parents and grandparents too.
03Art, story & culture
Stories worth passing on
Characters, storytelling, animation, illustration and sound, made with artists, writers and musicians from many cultures and in many languages.
04The majority world
Built where most people live
We design for South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America from day one: local languages, local prices, local realities, and the diaspora communities that connect them.
The technology that matters most is the kind that quietly makes life richer: it teaches, connects and delights, and then gets out of the way.
The Indus near Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan · Photo: Furqanlw, CC BY-SA 4.0
02 Where we build
Beyond the developed world.
Most of the world’s children, makers and markets live outside Europe and North America, yet most products are designed somewhere else and adapted later, if at all.
We work the other way round. We start with families, creators and manufacturers in fast-growing regions, design for their languages, budgets and daily lives, and only then think about everywhere else.
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Middle East
- Africa
- Latin America
- Diasporas in Europe
03 How we work
From a sketch to a company.
We take ideas all the way: from the first conversation with a family to factories, shelves and independent ventures.
- 1
Imagine
Research with the people we build for. Stories, sketches and quick prototypes, tested early and often.
- 2
Make
Hardware, software, content and design, built in-house and with a network of studios, labs and universities.
- 3
Launch
Manufacturing, safety and compliance, supply chains and distribution across regions.
- 4
Grow
The strongest ideas become their own ventures, with the lab’s support behind them.
What we hold to
- Private by default. Data stays with the people it belongs to.
- Calm by design. Less noise, fewer screens, more attention for what matters.
- Many languages. Built for the languages people actually speak at home.
- Made to last. Durable, repairable, worth keeping.
- Fair to creators. Artists and partners are credited and share in what we build.
- Local first. Designed with local makers, for local realities.
04 From the lab
What we’re working on.
A few of the projects on our bench right now, described in general terms while they grow.
Prototype
A screen-free object for stories
A soft, screen-free object that lets young children start, choose and stop stories and sounds on their own. Built on our own electronics, private by design, with no camera and no feed.
In development
Characters that come to life
Each character is designed once, with a small set of poses and faces, and animated to voices and sounds, so it always stays on model. First tests run 30 seconds, in two languages.
Research
Picture books in three art styles
One set of characters and one story, produced as books in cut-out, paper-collage and watercolour styles, to learn which style families prefer and why.
Berlin
Based in Berlin. Connected to the world.
Our lab sits in a city of artists, engineers and researchers from everywhere, and works with makers, partners and families across South Asia and other fast-growing regions.
About the labThe Oberbaum Bridge over the Spree, Berlin · Photo: Hans-Jürgen Neubert, CC BY 4.0
05 Work with us
Good ideas need many hands.
We build with artists, students, makers, institutions and partners. Pick the one that fits you to see how we work together.
Artists & storytellers
Illustrators, animators, writers, musicians and sound designers who want their work to reach new audiences.
Find out more →
Universities & researchers
Students and researchers in technology, design, media and learning who want real projects and real impact.
Find out more →Makers & manufacturers
Workshops, factories and engineers who build with care, from small batches to scale.
Find out more →
Institutions & NGOs
Schools, foundations and public bodies working on learning and culture in emerging regions.
Find out more →
Partners & investors
People who share a long-term view of technology, culture and the majority world.
Find out more →06 Contact
Start a conversation.
Tell us a little about yourself and what you have in mind. We read every message and reply personally.
Based in Berlin, working with partners across Europe, South Asia and beyond.