Helsinki-based children’s language learning provider, Playvation, has landed €700K seed funding led by Sparkmind.vc to expand its online Moomin Language School internationally. Playvation has now raised a total of €1.5 million since the business launched in 2015.
Moomin Language School provides story-based digital language learning content for children aged between 3 and 10 years. Its unique educational approach also includes weekly group sessions that emphasize playful social interaction and learner engagement. The service offers extensive learning material (over 900 content units) and data/reporting tools to help educators and parents monitor progress and plan learning.
The startup’s new funds will be focused on rapidly scaling the international growth of Moomin Language School, Playvation’s core product. The business intends to significantly expand its position in key Asian and European markets, leveraging the global brand equity of the Moomin characters. The investment will also fund key hires to strengthen the global sales and marketing team.
Anu Guttorm, Playvation’s CEO commented: “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.”
Vesa Laakso of Sparkmind.vc continued: “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.”
So far the school supports language learning in 27 international markets and has over 20K active users. Its well-known characters, research-led pedagogy and focus on native English pronunciation make it attractive to educators and parents. As a result, Moomin Language School is a key learning resource for organisations such as Kipinä International Nurseries and Preschools, Norlandia Kindergartens and Touhula, the largest kindergarten chain in Finland. Playvation have already signed nine regional distribution deals with partners, with more currently in the pipeline.