Kibu 3D printed headphones for kids get Dragons’ Den backing

On last night’s episode of Dragons’ Den on the BBC, not everyone was able to woo the dragons with their brands and products. One presenter who was a success, however, was Sam Beaney, co-founder and CEO of Kibu, a startup that makes build-it-yourself 3D printed headphones for kids. After a short yet intriguing presentation about the product and a conversation with two interested dragons, Beaney was able to secure an investment of £65,000 ($87.4k) to help grow the business.

Kibu is the result of a partnership between 3D printing manufacturer Batch.Works, London design studio Morrama, and Sam Beaney, former designer at Batch.Works. Together, the partners set out to create a set of headphones for kids that combined function with DIY and circularity. The result is a build-it-yourself kit for headphones that comes with a repair infrastructure that leverages 3D printed parts. When the brand launched via a kickstarter in 2024, the idea clearly resonated as it quickly surpassed its funding goal of £5,000, ultimately raising £22,293 from 312 backers.

Since the initial Kickstarter, Kibu has evolved and now has a commercially available product. According to Beaney’s presentation for the dragons, Kibu has had total sales in the range of £25,000, with over 450 pairs of headphones sold. With further investment, the aim is to grow the brand through marketing and get the 3D printed headphones into retail stores.

With the headphones priced at £39 a pair, some of the dragons were inclined to step back from investing. However, Beaney emphasized that even though there are cheaper devices on the market for kids, the idea with Kibu is to foster a more circular, sustainable ethos, in which the product can last for years thanks to the ability to fix and replace parts. As he said: they want to “shape a generation of builders not just consumers”.

Following the presentation, entrepreneur Jenna Meek was the first to make an offer (£65,000 for 15% share), emphasizing the importance for Kibu to push its online marketing through social media. Peter Jones’ interest was also piqued, as he referenced how formative it was being able to tinker with and build computers when he was young. After some deliberation, Meek and Jones decided to share the investment, jointly offering £65k for a 10% stake each.

For Kibu, this means it not only has the financial investment it was hoping to get, it also means that its products have been given a broad national stage. Excitingly for the broader 3D printing industry, the headphones are the first fully 3D printed consumer products to be featured on BBC’s Dragons’ Den and do a good job at showcasing some of the benefits of the technology, including circularity and a repair-based ethos.

“When a child builds something themselves, it changes how they feel about it,” said Beaney. “When they learn they can fix what they’ve made, it changes how they see everything they own. Kibu is challenging the way technology is made and distributed.”

Julien Vaissieres, CEO of Batch.Works, added: “At Batch.Works we’ve always believed that manufacturing should enable better choices, not more waste. Kibu embodies that. As a father, I see how powerful it is to give children something they can build and repair themselves. As a founder, I know this is just the first step in what the brand can go on to do.”

With the investment and support from the influential dragons, it will be interesting to see how Kibu develops its brand and scales its product offering.