MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lingokids, an early learning skills platform that seeks to equalize the early learning landscape with its playlearning approach, has disclosed $10 million in new funding. The round is led by Ravensburger Group, an international toy company and games publisher and specialist in educational kids games, as part of its digital investment strategy. Lingokids will use the financing to broaden its global product offering, with the companies’ goal to work to mitigate COVID-19’s impact on education.
With the help of this investment, Lingokids will develop more innovative content and a more comprehensive curriculum, including 21st-century skills. The new multidisciplinary activities will address STEM skills from creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, literacy, and life skills (such as global awareness and responsibility). Lingokids will continue penetrating the U.S. market and will reinforce its presence in other key markets like Mexico and Brazil. The app has tripled its growth since the beginning of the year.
The investment comes with a strategic partnership that will allow Lingokids to tap into Ravensburger’s expertise in educational games publishing and a reputation centered around playful learning. The two companies plan to jointly develop new games and learning experiences for children around the proprietary IP developed by Lingokids to make learning even more effective.
“What’s most exciting here is the fact that both companies share the same goal – prioritizing education in a way that is accessible for children so they can spend more time dedicated to quality playful learning,” says Cristóbal Viedma, CEO, and co-founder of Lingokids. “Technology plays a role for kids that has really changed for the better over the years. It is our goal to continue leveraging its benefits to paint a brighter 'tomorrow' for our children. This partnership with Ravensburger provides us an opportunity to accomplish and develop more innovative content for them, as well as develop the concept of 360° learning experience at home.”
“Lingokids has shown an impressive capability to develop and deliver innovative digital learning experiences for children around the world,” says Thomas Bleyer, Group Director, Corporate Development of Ravensburger. “We are excited about the entrepreneurial spirit and potential of this partnership, supporting millions of families with quality playful learning content especially in these challenging times.”
To date, Lingokids’ community boasts over 20 million families in 190 countries and, with this funding, will also introduce new subscription levels to make the app more accessible for families worldwide. With the participation of existing investors HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, JME Ventures, All Iron Ventures, 500 Startups, Athos Capital and Sharpetown, Lingokids will continue to allow for a fun and personalized learning experience, with an emphasis placed on parental involvement, which is key to learning outcomes.
About Lingokids:
Lingokids is the playlearning™ app for children between 2 and 8 years old. More than 20 million families already use the platform. Lingokids’ mission is to help parents raise amazing kids and break down educational barriers to create equal opportunities for all kids. The company collaborates with NGOs and foundations around the world, such as Save the Children in the US, UNICEF, UNHCR and Red Cross, Pies Descalzos in Colombia (founded by Shakira), and the Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan. Lingokids also collaborates with companies like T-Mobile, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, Oxford University Press, Vodafone or Iberia. Lingokids has been featured as one of the best learning apps in media like Vogue, The Hechinger Report, and The Orlando Sentinel. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lingokids donated over 30,000 app licenses to schools and NGOs. It was also chosen as one of the Top20StartUps by LinkedIn. The company has raised $23 million in funds to date from HV Holtzbrinck Ventures, JME Ventures, Ravensburger, All Iron Ventures, 500 Startups, Athos, Sabadell Ventures, BigSur, Reach Capital, K-Fund's founding partners, SHO-zemi, Incuvest, and business angels like Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX. http://lingokids.com/
About Ravensburger:
Ravensburger AG is an international group with a long tradition and solid values. Its mission is "Playful Development". The company's most important brand mark is the blue triangle, which stands for fun, education and togetherness. Ravensburger is one of the leading brands for puzzles, games, and activity products in Europe as well as for children's and youth books in the German-speaking region. Toys with the blue triangle are sold worldwide, and the international brands BRIO and ThinkFun supplement the Group's portfolio. Ravensburger had 2,188 employees and achieved net revenue of EUR 524.2 million in 2019.*
* All figures as of 01/2020
