Chirp, an AI-powered child protection software for smartphones, has already raised funding from a large strategic investor, a US venture capital fund and some high-net-worth individuals, including Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp. It has also launched a public crowdfunding.
Rena Maycock, founder and CEO of Chirp, said once the €5m round closes, the company will have raised a total of €9.4m. She added that the crowdfunding element was a “smart way” to recruit brand ambassadors to complement Chirp’s marketing strategy.
Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp. Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Pinterest
“We have all bought an amazing new product and shared intel with our friends over cocktails of a Friday night, but what better feeling than telling your friends you invested in amazing new tech that can tackle the very problems that consume dinner parties full of concerned parents, week in and week out,” she said.
“Naturally we want to deliver a great return on investment for our backers but also, very quickly after we get to market, we will be able to deliver real evidence of impact – how many cyberbullying attempts we have blocked, how many online child-abusers we have identified and how many children we have helped by notifying their parents they are having thoughts of self-harm, before there’s a catastrophic event.”
Maycock said Sharp had been a great supporter of Chirp.
“Evan is very generous with his time and, for a small Irish startup, having a champion with his type of credentials, reach and influence in the US will be very helpful when it comes to launch into the States and when it comes time to raise a further scaling round.”
Parental and government awareness of online harms is at fever pitch
Maycock said the timing was right for Chirp’s launch. She claimed there had been a growing interest in the potential harm children face online and how to reduce risks.
“Parental and government awareness of online harms is at fever pitch. The market gap is now widely accepted and we are ready to fill it in 2026.”
Chirp has developed embedded software that detects and blocks cyberbullying, grooming, and self-harm content on smartphones.
The company claims its technology sits beneath the operating system layer, meaning it cannot be bypassed or deleted.
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