Monkimun, an award winning educational technology company that makes language learning for toddlers and kids fun, today announced it landed $1M in seed funding to expand its adaptive learning platform and apps portfolio. Monkimun's technology uniquely targets children ages twoÂ--toÂ--six, during the time when their brains are at their most flexible stage and cognitively suited to learning languages.
Monkimun participated in 500 Startups' accelerator program (batch 10) last year. Now they've raised capital from a global set of investors to help with international expansion. Some of the investors in this round include 500 Startups, Singapore based Incuvest, Japanese based SHO-zemi Innovation Ventures - CVC arm of one of the biggest afterschool chains in the country, Spanish based Lanzame Capital and angel investors Ian Noel, Inaki Arrola and Carina Szpilka - ex-CEO of ING direct Bank France Â-/ Spain.
Monkimun's partnership with SHOÂ--zemi Innovation Ventures (sziv.org) is a pioneering move, marking the very first time that an educational institution in Japan will work directly with a 500 Startup (500.co) through direct corporate investment. 'Our mission is to help find, and fund, the new wave of education for the next century,' says Yoshi A. Okamoto, SHOÂ--zemi Innovative Ventures Executive Director. 'Monkimun is a perfect example of the type of forwardÂ--thinking educational thinking we're looking for.'
Out of beta just six months, the San FranciscoÂ--Madrid based startup is challenging market incumbents by delivering language learning to a younger audience at a time when it is easier for them to become multilingual. Monkimun has earned rapid, consistent 15 percent monthÂ-overÂ-month growth and more than 1,000,000 downloads with over 40% of them from East & South East Asia, as parents clearly recognize that children who become multilingual reap lifelong advantages, including better test scores (especially in math, reading, and vocabulary), and enhanced memory, planning and multiÂ-tasking skills.
'Currently more than 20,000 kids across the world are learning languages with Monkimun on a daily basis, the equivalent of 1,000 classrooms filled with students every day. Even better, we have hundreds of thousands monthly active learners, making us the leading language learning company for preschoolers,' said Cristobal Viedma, CEO and coÂ-founder. 'There is great demand for digital language learning for children twoÂ--to-Â-six years old, as they have been underserved by current offerings and parents worldwide, and especially in Asia, want to give their children the very best language foundation for future success.'
Monkimun now offers five apps in English, Spanish and Chinese, which have won awards including Best Android App of 2014 by Google. The company will soon release a subscription platform that integrates all lessons and content to offer a one stop shop for parents looking to raise multilingual kids. According to market research firm Ambient Insight, wellÂ--known competitive intelligence experts, the worldwide market just for digital English language learning products revenue is projected to surge to $3.1 billion by 2018.