Elnaz Sarraf is an Iranian American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of ROYBI, an educational technology company known for creating the ROYBI Robot, an AI-powered learning companion designed to teach young children language and early STEM concepts. Sarraf is associated with industry groups including the Consumer Technology Association’s Small Business Council and the Forbes Technology Council, and she has spoken publicly about building accessible, self-guided learning tools for families.
At ROYBI, Sarraf leads product and company strategy around interactive learning experiences for children, with a focus on early language development, conversational practice, and structured educational content delivered through consumer hardware. ROYBI’s work sits at the intersection of robotics, speech recognition, and child-focused learning design, where product decisions are shaped by both educational outcomes and safety and privacy expectations for connected devices used by minors.
Sarraf has described her early interest in language learning as formative, and she later moved to the United States to pursue higher education. Before launching ROYBI, she co-launched iBaby in 2013, a consumer electronics and IoT company known for Wi-Fi smart video baby monitors distributed through thousands of retail locations. She has also been linked to earlier ventures such as iFamCare, and has participated in startup and entrepreneurship programs, including recognition as a Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center “Milestone Maker.”
ROYBI’s flagship product is the ROYBI Robot, positioned as an educational companion for children roughly in the preschool to early elementary age range. The robot delivers lessons, songs, and interactive exercises aimed at helping children build vocabulary and practice pronunciation through repeated conversational prompts. ROYBI has also marketed the broader “ROYBI World” platform, which has included additional educational offerings beyond the original robot, such as app-based experiences and related content initiatives.
Sarraf has emphasized speech-driven learning as a differentiator, including automatic speech recognition tailored for children and system design intended to support privacy-aware use. ROYBI has described an “edge AI” approach for certain recognition tasks so the robot can continue to interact even without constant connectivity. Product materials and interviews have also highlighted personalization, where lesson sequencing adapts based on a child’s responses over time.
Like many consumer devices that include microphones and cameras, the ROYBI Robot has raised questions common to child-facing connected products, including how audio or video features are controlled, stored, and disclosed. ROYBI has stated that parents can disable recording functions, and the broader category is shaped by regulatory frameworks such as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and evolving best practices for transparency and consent.
ROYBI Robot was featured in TIME’s Best Inventions list in 2019, which described the product as an AI-powered educator for children learning language and STEM skills. ROYBI has also publicized recognition tied to innovation award programs and related lists. In 2021, ROYBI announced that the ROYBI Robot was named a winner in the Smart Toy Awards, an initiative associated with the World Economic Forum focused on responsible and child-centric design of AI-powered toys.
ROYBI has reported raising $4.2 million in seed financing in 2019, described at the time as funding to accelerate production and bring the robot to market. Sarraf remains the central executive leader associated with the company’s vision, partnerships, and external-facing narrative, including public speaking and participation in technology industry organizations. ROYBI has also discussed operational footprints spanning the United States and international manufacturing and contractor support.
Child-focused AI products face heightened scrutiny around privacy, safety, and data governance. For connected toys and learning devices, key considerations include disclosure of microphone and camera capabilities, parental controls, data minimization, retention policies, and security protections. Market risks also include competition from lower-cost app-based learning products, the operational complexity of hardware manufacturing, and the challenge of sustaining updated educational content over time while meeting quality standards and consumer expectations.
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