Luca, a Mexico-based education technology company, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding from Heartcore Capital, Shilling Capital, and some Angel investors.
Angel investors include Juan Romero, former CEO of Pearson Latam; Hugo Arévalo, co-founder of ThePowerMBA; Brian Requarth, co-founder of Latitud and Viva Real; and Gonzalo Manrique, founder of Ironhack.
With the new financing, the startup plans to strengthen the technology and product development team. It will also go towards expanding its content production and starting operations in Mexico.
Founded in 2020 by Frederico Bello, Luca is a learning platform that offers pre-recorded K12 videos, gamified content, and AI-powered personalised study paths, covering the entire official academic curriculum and preparation for national exams. The platform allows students to take lessons, receive direct support from tutors and get this through a single app.
Students can use the Luca educational platform to reinforce what they learn in school, do homework, review materials, study for tests, and learn new concepts for the first time. Luca also offers more than 1000 official lessons, online courses on math, Spanish, and science classes for elementary, middle, and high school students.
Mexico currently represents a potential market of 44 million students, with a higher level of spending on education than that of the more developed EdTech markets. In this country, they begin with programs that will cover upper elementary school. These programs are aligned with the plans of the Ministry of Public Education.
Through Artificial Intelligence, Luca evaluates the student’s performance and their progress in the development of skills. It creates a fun, positive, and stimulating educational environment to learn while playing. The lessons and online courses are delivered using a range of teaching resources that serve as support in the teaching-learning process, generating meaningful learning.
In the near future, Luca plans to produce more videos covering elementary education levels and up to high school levels. It will focus on topics like math, Spanish, and science. The startup will also look to expand to more Spanish-speaking countries.