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startup · founder — Trafold Ltd

Taxie®

The world's smallest and lightest ECE-R129 child car seat — designed so taxis and ride-hailing drivers can carry a child seat all the time, protecting children from 15 months to 12 years old.

roleFounder & Designer
raisedsix figures
recognition4 international design awards
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why Taxie

If only a child car seat were small enough for every car

If only a child car seat were small enough to store in every car, then children would be well protected. That is the reason we developed Taxie®. Our design allows transportation like taxis and Uber to carry a child car seat all the time — children between 15 months and 12 years old are protected at the latest ECE-R129 standard.

Taxie® by Trafold® was created to help drivers provide a better service — designed for children of 76cm and above, a scalable product the size of a piece of hand luggage. Just unlock the base, flip it over, adjust the headrest, and you are good to go. When you finish, simply fold it back up and store it in the boot, leaving plenty of room for passenger luggage.

the product

Unfold, adjust, go

Taxie — product film

development process

Engineering safety under new regulations

The development of child car seats under new regulations presents a significant challenge. On one hand, we had to stay updated with the ever-evolving ECE-R129 regulation, which introduced not only new testing methods but also structural design challenges. On the other, it was crucial to establish strong relationships with manufacturers and parts suppliers. Ultimately, we devised a viable design solution that addresses the technical challenges while complying with safety regulations, successfully passing simulation tests. Progressing to the final stage required substantial funding to support hardware tooling and material preparation.

Fold & unfold — hand-luggage size
Design & engineering
Safety testing
Seat structure and dummy positioning Prototype assembly Folding mechanism prototype parts 3D-printed prototype components Factory visit — production discussion Crash-test rig with dummy

the journey

A global team

A global team was formed to support research and development: David Kang (lead designer) and Dannis Yeh (lead engineer) in Taipei, both with automotive industry backgrounds, alongside Victor Tardieu (marketing & sales, UK), Caleb Chan (investor relations, UK), Jung Jian (mechanical engineering), Wei-Chih Huang (CAE analysis) and Emma Chan (colour & trim).

The startup raised a six-figure funding total, secured several patents and copyright protections, and the designs received four international design awards — including a Red Dot Award (design concept), the European Product Design Award and an IDA Gold Prize. Unfortunately, due to insufficient funding, the company faced closure in 2025 — a journey that demonstrated design leadership, regulatory compliance, fundraising and business acumen end to end.

Accepting an international design award for Taxie
Accepting an international design award
The award-winning Taxie team with certificate
The award-winning Taxie team
next project 02 — Panther smartphone