Playvation, a Helsinki-based edtech startup focusing on digital language learning solutions, has raised €700k funding in a seed round led by Sparkmind.vc to expand its online Moomin Language School in international markets.
Founded in 2015, Playvation provides story-based digital language learning service for children aged between 3 and 10 years through its flagship online platform Moomin Language School. The service, designed by linguists, language teachers, early childhood educators, and technology experts, is offered to early learning organizations and primary schools around the world.
Playvation believes language skills are essential in the modern global world, but said millions of children lack access to high-quality teaching and learning content. The startup is on a mission to change this. Moomin Language School’s unique immersive learning method, which is based on research, includes weekly group sessions that emphasize playful social interaction and learner engagement. The platform also offers extensive learning materials, over 900 content units, and data/reporting tools to help educators and parents monitor progress and plan learning.
Commenting on the funding, Anu Guttorm, Co-founder and CEO, Playvation, said,
“This investment from Sparkmind.vc enables us to ramp up and deliver our global commercial strategy. We’re excited to work with them to prove the scalability of our proposition and show what we can do on the global stage. Sparkmind quickly saw the opportunity to build this business – their ambition matches our own and they’re a great partner to help us scale the company.”
The startup plans to use the new capital to rapidly scale the international growth of its core product, Moomin Language School, and significantly expand its position in key Asian and European markets, leveraging the global brand equity of the Moomin characters, according to its release statement. It further said the investment will also fund key hires to strengthen the global sales and marketing team.
Vesa Laakso of Sparkmind commented on the investment saying,
“Early childhood education is a key area of interest for Sparkmind.vc and the global demand for engaging English language learning solutions is rapidly expanding. Playvation stands out because of its strong, evidence-based pedagogy and extensive content library. Sparkmind is delighted to lead Playvation’s seed round and to support this highly experienced and passionate team of language learning experts.”
Playvation said its Moomin Language School is currently supporting language learning in 27 international markets, with over 20,000 active users on its platform. The startup claimed its well-known characters, research-led pedagogy and focus on native English pronunciation make it attractive to educators and parents.
Meanwhile, with the latest funding, Playvation has raised a total of €1.5 million since its inception in 2015. For Sparkmind.vc, the latest investment is said to be the fourth from its €40 million learning-focused venture capital fund and the second targeting early childhood education.
