BabySparks, an education technology startup based in Plantation, Florida, has recently raised a $2 million seed round led by Ocean Azul Partners.
The seed round was participated by Miami Angels, Kairos, Marstar Investments (Steven and Brian Finn), Lou Kreisberg, and Steve Goodman.
Founded in 2014 by Gustavo Rodríguez, a former investment banker for JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, and Juan Pablo Mejía, founder of Intellecting, an IT solutions company, BabySparks supports early child development through its platform.
The startup develops technology-enabled tools to help parents and caregivers, in multiple languages, support the early development of their children. Using a proprietary smart adaptive technology, BabySparks’ platform, which is available on iOS and Android systems, learns each child’s development profile, identifies specific needs, and then provides parents and caregivers with a customized program to support those needs. Each day, users receive eight to ten activities that can be done with children as young as newborns to 24 months. The app has received more than 3.5 million downloads in 180 countries.
Speaking on the latest investment, about the company, and its future plans, Gustavo Rodriguez, Founder and CEO of BabySparks, said,
“With the support of our seed investors, we’re accelerating the development of our product, adding content for new age ranges, and expanding our team. Parents love what we do, and we are very grateful for the 4.6 rating we’ve received in the app store from over 21,000 of our users. We are committed to helping every child reach his or her full potential.”
“85% of our children’s brains are formed by age 3. Parents and caregivers can significantly impact this process by frequently interacting with them in meaningful ways. BabySparks leverages the latest research to help parents and caregivers do exactly that. We love the feedback we get from the parents and caregivers about our platform.”
Praising the works that BabySparks has been doing, Salomon Sredni, partner at Ocean Azul Partners, commented saying,
“It is simply amazing to see what Gustavo and his team has been able to accomplish to date. We love how helpful their platform is to parents and caregivers, and love to hear the praise they get from users worldwide. Helping children reach their potential is no easy task but they are clearly getting there one child at a time.”
Meanwhile, BabySparks was recently named one of the most promising edtech startups in the world by the Global EdTech Startup Awards. The Company was also selected as part of the Miami 500 Startups inaugural Growth Cohort last year and named one of 50 Companies Changing the World as part of the Kairos 50, which featured in Inc Magazine.
