Pok Pok, a Brussels and Toronto-based education technology company has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Konvoy with participation from Initial Capital and other angel investors.
The round also witnessed participation from existing investors including Tiny, as well as angel investors Jon Levy, the co-founder of Mastermind Toys and Dax Dasilva, the founder and executive chair of Montreal-based tech company Lightspeed, among others.
With the new financing, the women-founded startup plans to continue innovating across their Apple Design Award-winning preschool app Pok Pok Playroom to fuel its mission to help kids grow into empowered, creative, out-of-the-box thinkers. In the next few months, the company will expand its set of digital toys with the release of multiple expansions and three new toys in the Playroom for kids.
Co-founded by Esther Huybreghts and Melissa Cash in 2019, Pok Pok is a collection of digital toys for kids aged 2-6 that spark creativity and learning through open-ended play. The company believes that the future is in the hands of the little dreamers and problem-solvers who will someday change the world. Pok Pok’s mission is to help raise the next generation of creative thinkers, and make digital toys that empower kids to be creative and think outside the box.
Talking about the platform, Co-founder and CEO of Pok Pok, Melissa Cash, said:
“We are set to redefine digital play for kids. The need for trusted, educational and creative digital experiences has never been stronger, especially with such widespread access to screen time among children. At Pok Pok, we truly believe that creativity is one of the most important things we can foster in our children, especially as the world moves towards automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence.”
The startup launched its Pok Pok Playroom app, which is the first title to go live from Pok Pok, last year in May. The app encourages kids to learn through independent play and launched with six “digital toys” that grow with the child as they age up.
Adding further about the company, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Pok Pok, Esther Huybreghts, said:
“The company is focused on making its digital play experiences based in reality and making Pok Pok a diverse space. The kids are going to be growing up in a society that is vastly different from the ones that their parents grew up in, which is why it’s important for them to be creative and be able to think outside of the box.”
She further said:
“Pok Pok’s products will aim to help children be able to collaborate and cooperate with others. We want to make quality products that will allow parents to move through childhood with their kids with Pok Pok as a solid supporter of their kid’s creativity and education.”
Commenting on the funding, Josh Chapman, Managing partner, Konvoy, said:
“Pok Pok is an exceptional answer to the way young children interact with technology. When we learned about their team’s story, the incredibly unique product they have built, and their vision for the future, we were thrilled to lead their round and be part of their journey.”
Last year in February, Pok Pok had raised $925,000 in a pre-seed round.
