Singapore's Kids-Tech Startup myFirst Partners SGX-listed Fu Yu for Major Expansion to 20,000 Locations including North America
North American expansion plan will extend myFirst’s global presence from 4,000 locations to over 20,000, including Walmart, Costco and Best Buy
Expansion follows myFirst’s Pre-Series A funding round from Lynx Asia Partners and angel investors
myFirst is well-positioned to meet the growing demand for social media safety through its kid-friendly social media ecosystem, watchphones, cameras, earbuds, 3D pens and headphones
Fu Yu will be myFirst’s exclusive contract manufacturer, undertaking the manufacture and assembly of the latter’s products, with the ability to scale up production to support myFirst’s expansion plans
Fu Yu will leverage state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies within its Smart Factory in Singapore, including rapid prototyping, metal 3D printing, liquid silicone rubber injection moulding, and automated high-precision tool fabrication
SINGAPORE, Apr 4, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - Singapore’s myFirst Tech Holdings Pte Ltd’s (“myFirst”) has appointed SGX Mainboard-listed Fu Yu Corporation Limited (“Fu Yu”) as its exclusive contract manufacturer to propel a major North American expansion of its kid-safe digital platform. The two homegrown companies signed a S$15 million contract today for Fu Yu to commence mass production this month.
Fu Yu's Group CEO Mr David Seow, with myFirst's co-founder and CEO G-Jay Yong in front of myFirst's retail store at Suntec City
The pioneer of the world’s first kids’ tech ecosystem, myFirst’s myFirst Circle app allows each child to build a unique digital community that is parentally secured to interactions with trusted family and close friends. Through this kid-safe network, children can socialise and share experiences using myFirst’s products, such as watchphones, cameras, earbuds, 3D pens and headphones. Parents will have classification capabilities and also be able to track a child’s whereabouts.
There is an increasing awareness among parents and educators about the importance of social media safety, as many children start to engage with such devices before the age of 5, while nearly one-in-five children under 12 have their own smartphone.[1] These technologies, while offering new learning and development opportunities, carry significant risks in terms of privacy, inappropriate content and safety.
myFirst addresses this gap by offering a unique ecosystem of child-centric tech products that marries the physical interactivity of hardware with real-world technology tailored for children, offering a holistic experience that meets the demands of a parent’s educational goals and a child’s curiosity.
Following a Pre-Series A funding round from Lynx Asia Partners and angel investors, myFirst is set to expand its presence in North America, increasing from 4,000 to over 20,000 locations, including major retailers like Walmart, Costco, and Best Buy. With 46.6 million children under 12[2] in the US, myFirst is well-positioned to meet the rising demand for kid-safe technology. The company, already operating in 40 countries, previously received investments from tech founders and executives from companies like PatSnap, Google, Rainforest, TNB Aura, and Zopim in 2022.
Singapore-headquartered Fu Yu is one of Asia’s largest manufacturers of high-precision plastic products. It will provide a full suite of solutions to manufacture and assemble myFirst’s products. Fu Yu will scale up production, supported by its Smart Factory in Tuas which includes new production introduction and rapid prototyping capabilities, metal 3D printing, liquid silicone rubber injection moulding and high- precision tool fabrication.
Depending on myFirst’s requirements, component production can be manufactured across Fu Yu’s six facilities located across Singapore, Malaysia and China, providing a high level of interoperability and flexibility. Fu Yu’s strategic geographical distribution also ensures a robust supply chain, facilitating efficient cross-border logistics and reducing turnaround times.
Prior to mass production of each of myFirst’s products, Fu Yu’s New Product Introduction (“NPI”) team will engage with myFirst to offer bespoke product design assistance, while optimising the production process to allow for shorter time-to-market while improving quality and high production yield. Both parties will also explore the use of bio-rated materials to manufacture certain components, further enhancing sustainability across the production line.
G-Jay Yong, Co-founder and CEO of myFirst, said, “myFirst is excited to partner with a fellow Singaporean homegrown company in our global expansion. Every time myFirst has expanded, we have faced a sudden surge in demand. We are globally available but the US is a big market and this partnership has given us the backing to be able to cater to this demand surge.
“Parents in the US have been asking us when they could get onto our kids tech ecosystem as they’re very concerned about their kids' safety online and also in the real world, so now we can assure them we are ready.”
Mr David Seow, Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Fu Yu, said, “We are honoured to play such a key role as myFirst embarks on its most significant expansion since its inception. The partnership underscores our ability to meet the high-precision demands for new devices and potential product ramp-ups. Over the past year, Fu Yu has been tirelessly evolving, developing new NPI capabilities to provide early-stage engagement and enhancing our capabilities with cutting-edge manufacturing techniques.”
“Our business transformation led to us being appointed as myFirst’s exclusive contract manufacturer, marking our inaugural venture into box-building manufacturing of Internet of Things (IoT) enabled smart devices. We are now well-poised to meet the advanced manufacturing requirements of our customers, and will continue to build upon our strong record and maintain a healthy project pipeline.”
About Fu Yu Corporation Limited
Established in 1978, Fu Yu is Singapore’s oldest and one of Asia’s largest manufacturers of high-end precision plastic and metal components, and products.
Backed by more than 45 years of operating knowledge, Fu Yu provides vertically-integrated manufacturing services to a diversified and loyal customer base across segments and geographies. We operate 6 strategic manufacturing sites across Singapore, Malaysia, and China, and have more than 1.5 million square feet of production floor capacity.
Our Supply Chain Solutions arm was established in 2021 to provide commodity supply chain management services for our customers.
myFirst is the world’s first kids tech ecosystem connecting over 1 million families. Real tech for kids with fun devices, connected services and kid-safe social network to socialise, share and go anywhere, all safely connected with their friends and family.
Our fun devices are the gateway to our kids’ suitable social circle network, myFirst Circle, which is specially designed for kids, their friends, parents and grandparents, to interact within circles of trust with no ads, no strangers, only real, trusted connections.
