The personalised publishing startup Wonderbly (formerly Lost My Name) just closed a $8.5 million Series B round led by Ravensburger, a leading European games and children’s books publisher. Ravensburger joins the circle of renowned international investors Google Ventures, Project A, Greycroft, The Chernin Group, and Allen & Co, all of whom previously invested and also participated in this latest round. Additionally, the company has secured a venture debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank. The fresh capital will be used for accelerating new product development and international growth.
Wonderbly lives on the intersection of storytelling, engineering, digital, and print. Headquartered in the UK, the young company burst onto the scene with the global bestseller book “Lost My Name”, a personalised children’s book that changed the landscape of personalised books from a gimmicky novelty gift to a real creative canvas and a technology playground. Available in 10 languages, the book has become the top selling picture book in every major market Wonderbly operates in, including the USA, UK, Germany and Canada.
Wonderbly recently launched their second book “The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home” in Germany, a space journey packed with mind-boggling personalisation about a child and its robot friend who need to find their way back home.
In total, the London-based company has launched four titles with different personalisation systems and technologies and will be launching three more this year. To date, the Wonderbly has now sold over 2.7 million copies worldwide.
The rebrand and new investment round marks both the evolution of the company as well as its vision to accelerate new product development, to keep pushing the boundaries of personalised and personal publishing, and to inspire boundless self-belief in every child through imaginative, personal storytelling.
Asi Sharabi, the CEO of Wonderbly explains: “We’re building a new kind of personal media and publishing company that empowers customers to create stories and products that bring them closer to the people they love. We have a growing body of evidence for the positive impact of our products on children’s imagination and self esteem and we’re incredibly excited to keep creating personalised stories that inspire, nurture and empower children the world over.”