Leka: the ball-shaped educational robot that went into receivership and was taken over by an association

A startup that began with one ball-shaped robot

Leka is a ball-shaped educational robot from the French startup of the same name. TechCrunch says co-founders Ladislas de Toldi and Marine Couteau met at the École de Biologie Industrielle, where a professor challenged them to build a tool for autistic children. A June 2014 Maddyness article profiled the startup’s spherical robot Moti, saying it held a child’s attention with autonomous movement, music, color and vibration, with an app to tailor settings to each child. The version that appeared on Indiegogo in May 2016 rolled, changed its expressions, sounds and lights, and connected over Bluetooth to an iOS or Android app. Caregivers could add or remove lights and sounds to adjust stimulation. The founders drew a line: “We are an educational tool,” de Toldi told TechCrunch, and he named the iPad as the main rival.

From a maker’s broken promises to receivership

According to Maddyness in 2022, after about two years the manufacturer failed to deliver and asked for twice the funds already invested. Leka sold some Alpha versions in late 2017 to survive. Investors understood the product but doubted they could sell their stake after five years, and orders grew faster than production, which lacked money. At the end of 2018 the company stopped paying its debts and entered receivership. After de Toldi appealed on LinkedIn video for an investor or buyer, an offer came within three weeks, and APF France Handicap acquired Leka in 2019. Handicap.fr reported that APF Entreprises, the association’s network of adapted enterprises, would develop, assemble and sell it from Alsace. The 2022 article carries the line that the takeover saved Leka.

From a $390 pre-order to €2,490 for professionals

Live Science put the 2016 crowdfunding pre-order price at $390, while TechCrunch gave the robot’s price as $699 (sources differ). In January 2022 a report said it was coming out at €2,490 aimed at health and education professionals, with a subscription model for parents under consideration for 2022 or 2023. The company said it had secured components for 1,000 robots in 2022 and had prototypes in 12 countries. In December 2021 Journal du Geek described a white sphere with large eyes and an emoji-like look. KultureGeek called it a small robot with a friendly, always-smiling face and said institutions in Bondy, Villeneuve-d’Ascq and Laval contributed to its design.

We found no independent study or user reaction. What we did find is press comment on its look and statements from the company. De Toldi said children with autism need repetition and predictability. When the takeover was announced, association directors said they shared the aim of empowering people with disabilities. What the robot changed for children is not confirmed beyond the company’s and the association’s own account.

A robot that was harder to build than to want

Leka’s crisis came from manufacturing, not demand, and the company itself said making a physical product is difficult. Unlike Jibo, which lost its functions when its company closed, Leka continued through an association that runs a workshop for people with disabilities.

Who should produce the evidence when a robot is said to help a child?

What we haven’t confirmed

• Units sold and whether it is on sale now (we only saw a 2024 copyright line on leka.io)
• Independent studies of its effect on children’s development
• Price and product changes after 2022
• Any published design award or expert design review