This Smart Startup Wants to Help You Find Your Lost Stuff

Do you have a habit of losing your keys? Or worse, your wallet? Wistiki, a startup based in France that’s pronounced “wiss-ti-key,” wants to help.

The company, whose tagline is “the end of lost,” is rolling out three “connected jewels” that connect to smartphones via Bluetooth. When a button is pressed in the Wistiki app, the devices emit a ringtone that helps users locate whatever they’re attached to, with a range of about 300 feet. And if the device is left behind—say, in a purse on a taxi seat—the Wistiki app will show users the exact spot where the connection between Wistiki and phone was lost, helping narrow down the search.

Users can also be alerted if a Wistiki device moves out of range, handy if a pet makes a stealthy run for it. And a “reverse locator” feature means you can use a Wistiki to make your smartphone ring if you misplace that instead. The devices are advertised to last three years, after which a new unit will have to be purchased.

Wistiki’s three new models all work similarly, but feature different designs. There’s the Aha, meant for pet collars, the Voila, meant for keychains, and the Hopla, a thin model that fits in wallets. All are available in four different colors, yellow, blue, orange and pink, evoking Apple’s vibrant iMac lineup of years past. The Apple connection doesn’t end there—the devices were designed by Philippe Starck, a French designer perhaps best known for his work on Steve Jobs’ yacht.

Smartphone-connected locator devices aren’t a new concept; Tile popularized the concept here in the United States. But Wistiki is confident its new lineup, which surpassed its goal on Indiegogo, will help the company break into the U.S. market. Each of the new products will retail for $50 and start shipping in March of 2016.