Why I built Katae
Growing up in Canada as a second-generation immigrant, my mother was the storyteller in our household. Her voice was how Tamil and Telugu and most of my culture stayed alive in our home. Storytelling is a tradition that exists in almost every culture around the world. The stories, they still exist, but families don’t have the time, language, or proximity to read them to their kids. As a software engineer, I wanted to build something for every family holding on to a language, a voice, a version of home that distance keeps pulling further away. So I built Katae.
Santhoshi, Founder of KataeSupported by the Nicol Ventures Grant · Carleton University
Katae exists because home languages survive on voices and storytelling. Record once, and from there children can listen to stories in that voice, in the languages you choose. Bedtime, car rides, Sunday afternoons. A way to keep the voices that matter near, even when they can’t be.
The name comes from kathai (கதை), the Tamil word for story. Storytelling is a tradition that exists in every culture. We’re building toward a library you’d be proud to hand a child, and controls that treat voice data with the care it deserves.
It’s still early. I’m shipping carefully, talking to families, and trying to learn more one conversation at a time.
If you’re holding on to a voice or a language and looking for how it fits into your routine, I’d love for you to join us.