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Munich-based children’s mindful entertainment startup BiMA has announced a €500,000 pre-seed funding round to launch a screen-free projector that transforms children’s bedrooms into immersive, story-driven wonderlands.
The round was led by Antler, with participation from Oetinger Publishing Group — early backers of the hit children’s audio platform Tonies. Other investors include former Disney managing director Andreas Peters, Kickbase and COBE founder Felix van de Sande, and e-commerce expert Silvia Sommer.
BiMA was co-founded in 2024 by CEO Larissa Ruf and CTO Greta Garkisch. The company aims to redefine family play and storytelling by offering screen-free entertainment that sparks imagination and deepens family bonds. It plans to release its first 1,500 projectors later this year.
The market opportunity is significant: 3.5 million households with children aged 0–5 in Germany alone (€730M potential), 17 million across Europe (€3.7B), and over 420 million globally (€88B).
“Most toys are designed to keep children occupied,” said CEO Larissa Ruf. “But we wanted to create something different: a product that brings families together during the most meaningful moments of the day.” Oetinger managing director Julia Bielenberg added: “Just as Tonies created a new way to experience stories, BiMA has the potential to redefine how children interact with imagination, creativity, and calm.”
Ruf and Garkisch met six years ago through Academy Consult Munich, combining backgrounds in education, technology, and design with experience at Schleich, Siemens AI Lab, Microsoft, and Accenture.
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