AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Feb. 17,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kid-tech startup Polymath has
secured $1M USD in funding with
notable investment from ClassDojo CTO Liam Don in their first angel round, followed by
a venture-backed pre-seed raise co-led by Blackbird Ventures and
GD1. This investment accelerates Polymath's US market expansion,
bringing exciting targeted math learning to over 23 million
children.
Polymath is the learning game that kids actually want to play.
Despite spending upwards of 4 hours a day on screens outside of
school, kids only spend 6 minutes on average on educational apps.
Instead, they spend time gaming, watching videos, and using social
media. Polymath changes this by merging an adaptive learning
algorithm with a sandbox gaming world, keeping thousands of
elementary-aged kids engaged for an average of 30 minutes per
session. Data shows regular Polymath users learn up to twice as
fast as non-users.
Liam Don Backs Polymath
Liam Don, the CTO and co-founder
of ClassDojo first invested in Polymath during its angel round.
ClassDojo is an edtech unicorn with over 50 million users, namely
teachers and families, whose app bridges the gap between home and
school.
Don champions Polymath's ability to create a user-focused
product: "Most learning products only have notional educational
value. This team has created a cutting-edge product that's already
making a real impact. Their mission to transform education through
tech that kids enjoy and a focus on meaningful learning outcomes is
truly inspiring and sets a high bar for the future of products made
for children."
An Obsessed Team
Polymath's founders, Sophie and Christian Silver are obsessed
with fighting the drop in mathematics attainment that has been
snowballing for the last 20 years. Sophie's passion for education
started with inventing games for children she worked with while
studying human learning at UCL. Christian, a Cambridge Computer
Science graduate, helped turn those ideas into a dynamic learning
app.
"Polymath is kid-first. Our mission is to lift global education
outcomes and we can't do that without enthusiasm from children.
We're rebranding learning as exciting and developing a learning
algorithm to simultaneously deliver results", says Sophie Silver, the CEO and co-founder of
Polymath.
Cohesive Learning In and Out of the Classroom
Polymath is used both in the household and at schools, with the
school version engaging students and serving as a gateway to the
at-home experience, proving parents can trust Polymath with genuine
educational endorsement.
Polymath is used both at home and in classrooms. Teachers can
adopt it for free, making it easy to integrate into lesson plans.
U.S. teachers in states like AZ, VA, SF, FL, TX, and CA are already
raving about the app.
Kids take Polymath home because they enjoy it. At home, they
gain access to all game features, reinforcing learning through
play. "GD1's investment in Polymath was driven by the team's clear
user obsession. Their rapid iteration and deep engagement with
teachers and parents demonstrated a commitment to creating a
product kids genuinely love. This tenacity and strong commitment to
drive learnings through understanding the early users was pivotal
in enabling us to become early believers. We eagerly look forward
to what Sophie, Christian and the team achieve over the coming
years" says Vignesh Kumar,
Co-Managing Partner at GD1.
Doubling Learning with Fun: What Sets Polymath Apart
Polymath feels like a game—complete with collecting, building,
and multiplayer features. At its core, an adaptive algorithm
personalizes learning moments to each child's progress. To finish a
house, a child might need to measure its dimensions. They might
need to spot when they're getting a bad deal from a shop. Polymath
steers kids towards activities that match their current
abilities.
"Watching Christian and Sophie work, I was struck by their
ability to iterate quickly, listen to user feedback, and build a
game with strikingly long session times given it involved math!
This is a scrappy team delivering a product that kids love, and
parents love that their kids love," says Phoebe Harrop, General Partner at Blackbird
Ventures.
The team has built a fraction of what Polymath can be. They're
working towards a more dynamic world with activities like farming
and looking after pets, as well as multiplayer features so that
kids can motivate each other to learn.
"We're constantly experimenting with new features in our game
world. Trying a new character here, a new way to ask questions
there. We're pushing new ideas out almost daily. The whole team,
engineers included, work with real kids so we get immediate
feedback on what's fun and what's not" says Christian Silver, the CTO and co-founder of
Polymath.
Looking Ahead
With this funding, Polymath will expand in the U.S. and
introduce collaborative play, enhancing the collaborative aspects
of learning.
Already played by tens of thousands of children worldwide,
Polymath continues to grow in the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, and Australia.
Discover Polymath at https://polymath.how/.
About Polymath Polymath is a kid-focused app that turns screen
time into a healthy, productive, and enjoyable experience. Through
personalisation and interactive gameplay, Polymath empowers
children to learn and grow, while giving parents peace of mind.
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SOURCE Polymath