About us
Pyxie began with a simple question: what would it look like to better support the people who care for others, and the relationships that care depends on?
We're starting with recurring in-home childcare, where families and caregivers are expected to build trust, share knowledge, align expectations, and adapt as children grow, often without much infrastructure to help them do it.
Our ambition is broader. We believe care work deserves systems designed with the same thoughtfulness and respect we bring to other essential parts of society.
“When expectations and communication are clear, nannies are empowered to focus entirely on providing exceptional care. This app is a significant step toward professionalizing the industry and improving the experience for both families and nannies.”
Our mission
Build better systems around the people who provide care.
Our vision
A world where care work is recognized and supported as essential infrastructure.
What we believe
Caregiving requires judgment, experience, emotional intelligence, and adaptability. We build tools that recognize that expertise and the immense impact on families and society.
Technology should help families and caregivers understand each other better, communicate more clearly, and build trust over time.
The systems around care should reduce burden, not add to it. We look for ways to make complicated moments simpler, calmer, and even joyful.
People should understand how Pyxie works, what information is being shared, and how technology is being used in their care relationship.
Families and caregivers should help shape the systems designed for their relationships. We know we will not always get everything right, and we are committed to listening, learning, and improving as we build.
Life is precious. We want technology to protect time for the relationships that matter and our work to create the greatest positive impact possible. Pyxie is our way of pursuing both.
Why the name Pyxie
Pyxie takes its name from Pyxis, a small constellation in the southern sky whose name means compass.
We chose it because care often depends on navigating uncertainty. Children change, families change, routines shift, and caregivers are constantly making thoughtful decisions with the context they have.
Pyxie is meant to help provide that context. Not to dictate the answer, but to help the people providing care find their bearings, understand what matters, and move forward with greater clarity.
That idea sits at the heart of what we are building: technology that supports human judgment and helps care teams navigate together.
Pyxis, the compass constellation
A Note From Our Founder
I’ve spent much of my career thinking about how the systems around children shape their lives.
I studied social innovation at Cornell and education leadership and entrepreneurship at Harvard. I’ve worked across education, technology, and social impact, and I’ve also worked as a nanny myself. That experience gave me a very different view of care.
I saw how much good caregiving depends on knowledge that is easy to underestimate: how a child likes to be comforted, which routines really matter, what a parent means by “healthy” or “independent,” when a caregiver should follow instructions closely, and when they are trusted to use their judgment.
I also saw how much invisible work goes into making a care relationship function well.
Families are trying to get support. Caregivers are trying to do their jobs well. Children benefit when the adults around them understand one another. Yet the responsibility for making all of that work is usually left to the people inside the relationship.
We are still early, and we know the first version will not solve everything. We are building closely with families and caregivers, learning from real use, and trying to create something that genuinely makes care relationships easier, stronger, and more human.
Jenna Winocur
Founder & CEO
Our Team
Pyxie is built by a mission-driven team working at the intersection of care, systems change, and responsible technology. We bring experience across social innovation, entrepreneurship, early education, and global service, and build in close partnership with professional caregivers whose expertise and lived experience guide every design decision.
Jenna Winocur
CEO & Co-Founder
Jenna is a social innovator and nanny creating interventions that empower women, advance early childhood development, and shape human-centered AI. A Global Youth Changemaker affiliated with Harvard, Cornell, and MIT IDEAS, she has experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and education.
Evan Austin
Technical Co-Founder
Our Advisors
Guided by global leaders in early childhood development, AI, and care policy, our advisors provide the strategic foresight to scale Pyxie responsibly while staying rooted in developmental science.
Danny Rosenthal
INA Board, Industry Expert, Product Growth
Danny is a childcare veteran with 20+ years’ as a nanny, agency owner, and staffing operator. An INA Board Member and EngineHire Director of Community Partnerships, he hosts industry podcasts and authored Nanny ABCs. At Pyxie, he advises on partnerships and caregiving dynamics.
Logan Currie
Future of Work, AI + Adult Learning
Erin Carroll-Manning
Agency Founder, Industry Advocate
Erin is the Founder of Gentle Giraffes with 30+ years in childcare. A Master Newborn Care Specialist and Postpartum Doula, she has supported hundreds of families. At Pyxie, Erin advises on care workflows, training standards, and real-world coordination challenges.
Manabu Nagaoka
Global Executive, Sesame Street
Dr. Virginia Schwager
Founder, Formator Institute
Dr. Virginia has 15+ years in complex private family settings, specializing in child development, caregiver training, and multi-residence household systems. She founded Formator Institute to create scalable frameworks for families and childcare professionals.
Built with the people closest to care
Pyxie is being shaped by parents, professional caregivers, and advisors who bring lived and professional experience across childcare, family support, technology, and social impact.
Our Caregiver Advisory Board plays an especially important role in helping us understand what actually supports caregivers, where technology can create unnecessary burden, and what we should never build. Their input shapes both the product and the principles behind it.
Help us build what care deserves
We believe the people using Pyxie should have a voice in what it becomes.
If you are a family using recurring in-home childcare, we'd love to build with you.
Become a Founding FamilyIf you are a professional caregiver, we'd love to learn from you.
Join the Advisory Board