The Russian-born edtech startup Novakid has just completed a $4.25 million Series A round. The deal was led by Hungary-based PortfoLion and LearnStart, a major edtech-focused US fund, with participation from TMT Investments and Xploration Capital.
A previous $1.5 million funding round took place less than a year ago, involving South Korean VC BonAngels and Russian VC firm Leta Capital.
“Novakid attracted investor attention due to its excellent traction, which resulted in over 500% growth year-on-year both in terms of number of students and in terms of revenue. Other attractive points were strong customer retention, international business footprint and a solid monetization via paid subscriptions,” commented Aurél Påsztor, partner at PortfoLion, cited by TechCrunch.
Founded in 2017 by Max Azarov, Novakid touts itself as “a next-generation early English learning platform.” In addition to practicing English remotely with native-speaking teachers, kids from 4 to 12 years can enjoy AI-powered games and training apps that use “authentic content in English language.”
Novakid is now based in Krakow, a Polish city which is asserting itself as a major startup hub in Eastern Europe. Like many other Russian startup entrepreneurs, Azarov felt his company would be in a better position to develop internationally from outside Russia, he explained in previous exchanges with East-West Digital News.
