LoveHeart AI, an early childhood EdTech platform, recently raised $2.3 million in a seed round for its “super-intelligent aide for educators.” OIF Ventures and Skalata led the funding round.
Founded in 2022 by Himal Randeniya, Loveheart empowers educators to make a lasting and profound difference in children’s lives. It is simple and easy to use while also being extremely reliable. Its cutting-edge platform saves time, enhances programme quality, and promotes best practices. It is designed with all ethical standards in mind, including the ECA Code of Ethics. It believes that using AI to improve child outcomes is essential in improving the sector.
Randeniya used the proceeds from his first venture, Project Academy, to buy and run several early childhood education centres. He recognised a massive problem in the industry, which earlier this month won a much-needed 15% pay rise from the federal government – with more than a quarter (26%) of staff leaving the sector annually, with many saying “workload intensity” was the reason. Randeniya hopes to turn that trend around, with nearly two-thirds of educators saying AI tools are more likely to keep them in the industry and 83% of LoveHeart’s users already reporting improvements to their centres’ educational programmes.
As any parent who has flicked through their child’s daybook knows, educators put a lot of effort into tracking their young children’s growth and learning. However, that administrative burden is difficult to balance with caring for the children. Join LoveHeart, which uses artificial intelligence to reduce a 30-60-minute summative evaluation to a 3-5 minute task by converting text observations and voice comments into letters and reports. In addition, the platform’s AI-powered “Coach Sue” assists with activity suggestions and reflection on learning outcomes. The result saves an educator an average of 4.2 hours a week, giving them more time to focus on nurturing young minds.
The founder believes LoveHeart AI is transforming administrative tasks and reinvigorating the early childhood education sector at a time when demand for early learning care has never been greater.
He added, “LoveHeart wasn’t built by a Google engineer trying to figure out early education. It was created by, with, and for educators. Even the developing tech behind LoveHeart’s AI is built by pedagogical and sector experts”.
Andrew Yeo, who led the investment at OIF Ventures, commented on the development:
The startup has the potential to improve early learning for both children and their educators dramatically. LoveHeart has shown impressive growth in the 12 months since launch, signing up over 40,000 educators and centres at scale, with both educators and centres paying for the product. The advocacy we’re seeing from educators demonstrates how AI can be used for good to uplift learning at the earliest and highest leverage stage of life.
LoveHeart was also recently named co-winner of a State of Our Sector award for the most significant contribution to early childhood education, which Randeniya dedicated to teachers who change the lives of young children.
